The First Time
by windbreaking
Summary: "Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted as he reached for her then he too was blasted with another spell. It was too late. She was lost in time. Will he ever see her again?
1. Lost and Found

Re-posting Oh. Disclaimer: Not my characters. I am just playing with them as an imaginary game.

**Chapter 1: Lost and Found**

* * *

"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted as he reached for her then he too was blasted with another spell.

It was too late. The force of the witch's blast hit Kagome hard sending her flying through the air. She flew through the air and to her surprise into the well. The time portal opened and she was gone. Kagome expected to end up back in her time, but since there was no roof then she was most certainly not in the future. Had the portal not taken her anywhere?

She stood up and carefully climbed out of the well. Where was everyone? "Inuyasha? Sango? Miroku? Shippo? Kilala? Anyone here?" Kagome called out.

No one answered her. This was strange.

They had been in the middle of a battle with that witch Hatsuki.

Where was everyone?

It was then that she saw the tree of ages and tears started to fill her brown eyes. It was way too small. She had gone further back in time.

She had to go back.

She went back into the well.

Nothing.

She hopped off the ground.

Again, Kagome hopped. Again, there was no magic.

Nothing. Not even a spark of the time traveling magic that never made mistakes before.

A hour later after crying, screaming, stomping inside the stupid well that refused to open for her, exhaustion hit her, Kagome sat on the ground. Her fists clenched in frustration.

This was the worst day ever.

Her stomach growled. Great. She had to find food and find somewhere to sleep. Kagome stood up and climbed out of the well. She decided to go to the village. Someone would help her? Maybe? Well- she had no better ideas. However the closer she went to the village the more nervous that she become, because she remembered the first time; she went back in time. That village gave her a not so welcome reception. If it wasn't for Kaede then the villagers would have killed or hurt her.

She walked slower. Maybe this was not a good idea. She turned around and hit her forehead.

Think Kagome.

Where should she go?

She did not want to take her chances again with that village. Last time, she had been lucky to see her sister from her past reincarnation

Kagome went back to the tree and sat down. .

Kagome had never had to be in the feudal era alone, her friends had always been there. She could be brave since her friends were at her side, but Kagome was not stupid. The feudal era was dangerous. It was not a place for her to walk around all alone. She needed help to find another witch to fix the well.

Where on earth was she going to find a witch? It is not like there is a phone book or internet here.

Kagome could not do this alone. Kagome prayed that she would not be killed, but she swore when she got home that she would train as hard as Sango, to become as skilled as Kikiyo. If she knew that a day like this could happen then she would have trained for it, but she thought she would never be alone. There was no need to train. Stupid her. She should have seen this day coming.

Suddenly, her powers swept through her.

How could it be?

He was here.

She could sense him and all her bad feelings evaporated.

Kagome stood up and ran as fast as she could to find him. He was so fast. It was then that she saw the red haori. He stopped running. Her heart screamed in happiness. Kagome was so relieved and not thinking at all. All her fears and worries had evaporated as she ran. She just wanted to be in his arms.

She wanted a hug and for him to comfort her.

"Inuyasha!" she screamed before she jumped, Inuyasha moved out the way, and she fell to the floor on her knees.

Oops. No hug then.

He stared at her as if she was insane. Kagome's mind started to piece together the moments. His fierce scowl, claws flexed, and his fighting stance.

Oh- yea. He didn't know her. She was in the wrong time. He did look the same as the last time that she had seen him except that he stared at her suspiciously.

Kagome stayed on the ground. She could not find the will to stand up. This was the worst day. Her nerves felt fried. Tears started to fill her wanted to hold it back, but she could not. Kagome cried from the sting of pain on her knees, her frustration, fear, and she was hungry.

Inuyasha amber eyes swirled in confusion and sympathy, "Are you okay?"

"Yes- No!" she wailed pathetically. Nothing was okay at all. This was a terrible day. First, they had searched all morning for a false lead on Naraku, and then came back only to be attacked by that witch who messed up the well, and then she fell in the well.

Now she was in the wrong time, and her knees hurt, she was hungry, and she was with the wrong Inuyasha. Who probably thought that she was crazy.

Inuyasha relaxed his stance, "Wench. Stop crying."

He called her wench. Kagome counted to ten. He did not know her. She could not say the sit command. Well- she could, but he would not know what that was. If he got mad, he might not help her. This was not the Inuyasha that knew her. He could easily abandon her. There was no journey to force them together.

She was just a lost girl and he was a boy passing through.

"I''m sorry." Kagome said as she tried to calm her stressed nerves. She wiped her tears.

Inuyasha frowned. "Are you lost or something?"

Lost? She nodded. She was lost in time. Her heart ached and she wanted to cry again.

"Stop making all that noise. I will help you find your folks." Inuyasha offered gruffly.

Kagome's jaw dropped. Inuyasha offered to help her. Inuyasha offered to help a stranger. Usually, she always had to force him to be helpful.

"Really?" she asked before she could stop herself.

He nodded. "Anything if you will stop making those awful noises. You are hurting my ears."

Kagome laughed and just like that her tears dried up. "You are so nice." she said in awe.

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I am a lot of things but nice is not one of them."

"Sure." Kagome smiled.

He tensed up. "Wench, stand up. Something's coming fast."

That is when Kagome felt the very unfriendly demonic aura head straight for them. Automatically, she stood, reached for her arrow, went to stand next to Inuyasha. Forgetting again that he had never fought with her. Forgetting that he was not her Inuyasha. Missing the look that he gave her.

The panther demon walked into the clearing and stared them down. "Half-demon, you are the son of the dog demon that killed my father. Today, I will take your life in exchange."

Kagome aimed her arrow at the demon, "Inuyasha didn't kill your father, so you have reason to be here. Leave before we kill you."

The panther demon hissed at the priestess power surrounding her, "Priestess, I will enjoy ripping your throat out."

"You won't touch her," Inuyasha growled as he leaped to attack the panther demon with his claws.

Kagome tried to find an opening to attack. They were moving fast, but she had to help him. She just needed an opening.

When she saw Inuyasha jump back from the panther demon's attack that is when she fired. The arrow glowed bright blue and went straight through the demon's heart purifying him.

Inuyasha stood still in shock.

The forest was silent.

She was so happy that she wanted to cheer, so she leaped to hug him and he let her. He was still her Inuyasha. The one that would always protect her. Everything was going to be okay. She pulled back. Their eyes met and she flashed him a bright smile full of all her love, joy, stupid hope, forgetting that he was not her Inuyasha.

Inuyasha stared at her and she could not speak. He had never looked at her like that before. It made her insides turn, her heartbeat faster, and everything felt like it was standing still.

Her and him.

Like there was no one else in the world. She was overwhelmed and her mind became mush. He had never looked at her like that before.

All her words escaped her breathlessly, as she waited for him to break the moment. What was she doing? Ahhhh- She pulled away from him and her cheeks turned red.

Then as quickly as it never happened. He looked away, Inuyasha sniffed the air. "It's about to rain. Are you coming or what?" he said before he walked away from her.

Wait.

Maybe this was wrong. She did not want to mess up time. There were enough problems in her life besides her creating more problems. She should not follow him. This was trouble. This could not lead to anything good. Kagome needed to grow up, solve her own problems, or find someone else to help her. All her instincts screamed at her at the wrongness of this.

He stopped and turned around. "Are you hurt?"

Her heart shook. Since when did Inuyasha talk to her in such a gentle voice? She could not answer.

He misinterpreted her silence then he walked up to her, picked her up in his arms, "Relax, I will carry you. It is the least I can do."

Kagome leaned against Inuyasha's chest and the shock of his actions brought tears to her eyes again.

This was a huge mistake, but right now while she was safe in his arms, and that is all that mattered.


	2. Smells Like Trouble

**Chapter 2: Trouble**

* * *

She smelled like trouble, and he did not like it, no matter how sweet the smell was.

Inuyasha and the girl sat in the cave while the sky roared with rain and wind. It was such a strong summer shower that the sky had turned dark. The girl had sat as far from him as she could. Inuyasha almost laughed at her hot and cold antics. She was strange for a human and despite his best efforts, he found her fascinating.

His boring day had turned into the most interesting day.

Inuyasha watched her from the corner of his eye, but did not say a word. If she was not going to say anything then he was not going to either. Two can play the ignoring game. Besides, he needed to think.

Who was this girl? Why did she look at him as if they knew each other? He would have remembered if he met her before. She did not exactly fit in with her strange short skirt and arrows.

He had been so shocked when she tried to jump on him. He thought he was being attacked until he realized that she had only been trying to give him a hug. Then it got weird. Inuyasha had never had a girl ever hug him unless you count his mother and that did not count. He had been unsure how to react.

Then this girl had actually fought beside him. A priestess. The strangest priestess he ever met.

But she had the most beautiful brown eyes that he could drown himself in. His heart melted as he remembered the bright smile that she had gave him after the battle. It was full of so much emotion that it stirred all his emotions too. He almost wished he didn't see that or he wouldn't be here with her now. How could she look at him in that way? It was as if she knew him, as if she had feelings for him.

She was human.

Plus she was a priestess.

A god damn priestess.

She should be trying to purify him, like she purified that panther demon, not sitting here with him, looking way too comfortable, as if they were long lost friends. Then he almost sighed when he remembered when he was carrying her, clinging to him so tight that it frightened him on how fragile and lost that she was.

Then the worst part was that he had to force himself not to grin like a moron.

Inuyasha felt happy and it was ridiculous. He was never happy, maybe angry, bored, or irratated, but never happy. Then never this kind of happy. Happy in a giddy way that made no sense at all. He had never felt like this before. He was not sure what to do. He was not used to talking to girls. Why would any girl talk to a half-demon like him?

The craziest part was that he picked her up. It had felt so natural that he did not think about what he was doing. It was only after she was in his arms that his brain and body clashed.

What the hell!

It was a bad idea to touch her. Right away, he felt like he got burned. He was tempted to drop her. Let her suffer with her ankle.

Then she did not even protest when he picked her up. Instead, she cried and he felt like a jerk until he realized that she was happy. What kind of crazy priestess actually wants a half-demon to hold them?

He held her and he could not lie, she felt so good in his arms. Too good. Inuyasha took his time finding a cave. Deliberately, Inuyasha had walked the long way just to hold her longer. Especially since, she was wearing practically nothing so he could feel how soft her skin was. She was so trusting that she had fell asleep in his arms like a baby. Actually slept. He could not believe it. He almost tripped from staring at her, so innocent in his arms, trusting him to take care of her.

Crazy girl.

Trusting him. He could kill her so easily with his claws. It would be so fast that she would not felt a thing. Easily. She was not scared of him at all. He had never met anyone like her before.

He had to stop acting like a moron as if he had never seen a girl before, even if she had such long, nice legs.

This girl was in trouble. That is why she was here. She still had not confessed.

But he could tell. She was in trouble. That is the only explanation for her behavior.

Usually he did not like to get involved with other people's problems. He had enough problems of his own. He knew that he should leave this girl and walk away before she asked him for help.

He was sure that he would regret this. Chivalry was against all his beliefs. Helping damsels in distress was not something Inuyasha ever did. It did not matter how beautiful she was. He will keep walking.

The same humans that would scream help, scream again, when he tries to help anyway. They thought he was a monster. Stupid humans. They could not even tell when someone was only trying to help. There was no point.

He refused to help a human ever again.

Yes, Inuyasha was lonely sometimes. He had no one in his life for such a long time. Inuyasha spent all his days alone since his mother died. Demons hated him and humans were scared of him.

Sometimes Myoga visited him and tell him long boring stories. Inuyasha would complain about the flea, but he was grateful for his company. Myoga was the only one that cared enough to visit him.

He had a half-brother but that did not count. Sesshoumaru only came around to beat him up. He hated that guy.

No, Myoga was the only family that he had.

Sometimes he wished he had never been born, but he refused to die because it would make his enemies happy. Inuyasha hated taking orders. The last person that he listened to was his mother. That was it. He refused to listen to anyone. Honestly, he loved getting on people's nerves. It was fun. If his life meant that someone else was miserable than that was good news to him. He refused to die. He would survive no matter what happened. No one would cheer that they killed him. No way was he making anyone happy about his death.

She shivered.

Oh- she was probably cold because of the rain and wind.

He took off his red haori and handed it to her. She shot him a look of such longing that it shook him. He could not leave her. Inuyasha would help her with whatever she needed.

Damn.


	3. Disaster

**Chapter 3: Disaster**

* * *

This was a disaster. Kagome was having a hard time separating her Inuyasha from this Inuyasha. Why did he have to age so slowly? It had to be at least 50 years ago, but he almost looked the same. It was only his hair that was an inch short.

She needed help, but Inuyasha never liked to help anyone. She was so confused that he had willingly helped her without complaining so far. This was not going the way that she thought.

In the future, he had tried to kill her the first day as soon as he had an opportunity then he still did not want to help her find the jewel shards. Inuyasha had been a brat.

But then again- he had been angry because he thought she was Kikiyo.

Now, he had not met Kikiyo yet.

Kagome stopped breathing. This was not good. She did not want to mess with time. She had to keep it professional and stop staring at him. Then she was leaving. She was going to find someone else to help her.

Not Inuyasha.

Inuyasha was her friend. Her best friend. Later on when she met him, he is not emotionally available, so that is why they were friends. Now he was available and she could tell that by the way he looked at her. So intense that she was worried about having a heart attack. It was all her fault. She was treating him as if he was her Inuyasha. It was not right.

If Inuyasha fell for her instead of Kikiyo then the future would be so wrong. She would never come to the past because she would not have the Shikon jewel. They would never meet.

The rain was letting up. A rainbow painted the sky.

Kagome stood up and dusted her skirt. She bowed, "Inuyasha, thank you, but I have to go." She took off his haori and handed it to him. Then she ran away before she started to cry in front of him.

It hurt to see the stricken look that flashed across his face, but this was for the best. He would not remember her anyway.

Why couldn't she run into Sesshoumaru instead? That would not change the past at all. Inuyasha was the last person that she wanted to see. Kouga even would be better, but Kouga used to eat humans. Never mind. Yes, she needed to find Sesshoumaru. He hated humans but he did not eat them. Besides, lately she found out that Sesshoumaru is not that bad. She could convince him to help her. Maybe she could do him a favor in exchange. Kagome could handle Sesshoumaru even if she would never tell Inuyasha that.

That was easy.

She was surprised that Inuyasha had let her go. Usually he never let her go anywhere without him unless she was going home. He was so overprotective. But then again he did not know her, so he had no reason to care. She tried to let that thought depress her.

The sun was in that direction, so that was must be the West. If she went this direction, she would find Sesshoumaru.

Great. Another demon was coming after her.

This journey was going to be hard since she had jewel shards with her. Kagome sighed as she prepared her arrow. The insect demon emerged and Kagome killed it and continued alone.

She walked for an hour with no incident. It was getting dark. Suddenly, she felt nervous. She should have asked Inuyasha to take her to Sesshoumaru. Never mind. They probably hated each other even now. He would never agree to that.

Finally, Kagome found a place to rest. She sat down, pulled off her shoes, and rubbed her aching ankle. It was getting harder to relax, as it got darker. Was the forest always this creepy? It was so dark. She was not even out in the open but between a tree and a bush. Trying her best to hide. The minutes stretched out and it felt like forever. Every sound made Kagome jump in fright. Her hand stayed on her bow. It was so scary. She would have to walk faster during the day. The sooner she found Sesshoumaru the better.

She was not sure how she slept sometime around in the middle of the night the exhaustion had been too much for her.

In the morning, Kagome woke up feeling refreshed. She was so happy that she was still alive, and she was warm too.

Warm?

She was wrapped in Inuyasha's haori. She did not know whether to be relieved or angry. She stood up, looked around until she saw him sitting in the same tree that was next to her.

He dropped down, his fists clenched, and glared at her in a too familiar way. "Are you crazy? Why would you sleep here? It is not safe. Did you think that it was safe? I killed two demons that were looking for snacks."

She loved him.

He was too sweet. He had been watching out for her the whole time. Before she think about it. She threw herself into his arms. This time he did not pull away. A second later, she felt him wrap his arms around her.

"Stupid girl," he whispered against her ear sending a shiver through her. "Now are you going to tell me what is going on."

Kagome sighed and let him go, "I can't Inuyasha. It is better if you don't know."

His right eye twitched in anger, "How do you know my name?"

"Everyone knows you," she said with a weak laugh. He noticed that. When did Inuyasha get observant?

"Fine. What is your name?" he demanded and Kagome almost fell over. Inuyasha never cared about her name before. She should not tell him her name. Kagome tried to think of a lie. Nothing came.

His eyes narrowed, "If you won't give me your name than I will call you wench."

Her temper rose, but she did not lose it, but it did slip for a minute, "Fine." The less he knew about her the better.

He growled, "Look, I get it. It is none of my business. You keep your secrets. But at least let me walk you home, so you get there in one piece."

"I'm not going home." Kagome whispered. "Not yet-"

Inuyasha scowled, "Fine. It is not my business. I don't care. Keep your stupid secrets. But I'm still coming with you no matter what you say."

"I'm a priestess." Kagome whispered. "I don't need your help."

Inuyasha smirked, "I didn't ask if you needed it. I'm coming. You could not even get through the night by yourself. I don't feel like finding your dead body later. Let's go."

She froze. She was going to Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha would not agree. But if Inuyasha was with her then she did not need to go find the ice prince. She could just find a witch to ask them how to fix the well. She needed to find a witch as soon as possible. She had to get home.

He picked her up without asking and she snuggled closer to him. She had a long night, so she was going to relax. She did not feel like arguing, especially since Inuyasha never carried her in his arms.

It was nice and she was very tired.

Maybe if she does not do anything weird than he will never remember this. But then again this happened already, but Inuyasha doesn't remember in the future. She will be home in a few days. No harm. No foul. She should not be so conceited. Inuyasha would never love her. Kikiyo or no Kikiyo. They were friends. They will always be friends. Who cares if he was looking at her in a different way? He was probably just confused since she was acting weird.

Maybe she was worried for nothing. Maybe it won't be a disaster at all.

It might even be fun to get to know this Inuyasha.


	4. Secret Name

**Chapter 4: Secret Name**

* * *

He followed her. It was not as if he planned it. They had been going in the same direction or that was lie that Inuyasha told himself. Next thing, he knew he had followed her and protected her all night. Inuyasha realized that this girl did not want to ask for help, so he had no choice. He didn't know her and it was against all his beliefs to follow her. He knew that he should be happy that she left. Who would be happy about getting a problem? That girl had trouble written all her.

But he couldn't stop the hurt that hit when she walked away.

Inuyasha was miserable. Another feeling that he was not used to. Misery was not in Inuyasha's vocabulary. Misery was for weak and pathetic people.

He was strong.

He had to be strong or he would not have survived alone all these years. He did not mind being alone since most people were terrible anyway. But it felt like he got stabbed in his heart when that troublesome girl left.

Part of it was anger that made him follow her. How dare she make him feel so miserable!

Inuyasha never wanted to cry before, but he could feel it. Crying like a litttle kid. It was pathetic. That made him angry. He was going to give that crazy girl a piece of his mind. How dare she ruin his day that just started!

But he did not confront her like he planned. Instead he watched her from a distance. The more he watched her stumble, freeze, and suffer through the night, the more Inuyasha felt sorry for her. He even protected her from those two demons.

Pathetic girl that did not even realize that she needed him.

Her and all her secrets. How could she even hide her name? A name. Then she knew his name. She was a strange girl. He could inhale this sweet that was driving him crazy all night. Inuyasha was surprised at his lack of self-control. He told himself before that he would never touch her again. He swore.

Then she hugged him and that promise got erased from his mind. She felt so soft. So nice. Then she was touching his ears and a growl escaped him before he realized. "Stop." he snapped harshly. He had limits.

She flinched. "But I like your ears."

Crazy girl. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm starving."

He took her to a nearby hot springs. "Clean up. I will go get some food."

Her mouth dropped in surprise and then she ran off to the hot springs.

"Don't take too long." he shouted.

Twenty minutes later Inuyasha was grilling fish over a fire and the girl was still staring at him. He was not sure what he did, but that girl had a shocked look on her face for a while now. He ignored her as he made food.

When it was ready, he passed her some, but did not let go of the stick, "If you want to eat, you have to tell me your name."

Her jaw dropped and he smirked. Inuyasha was going to get some information out of her whether she liked it or not. He was proud of himself for his great plan. Then her eyes narrowed, she reached over, tried to snatch the fish out of his hand. But Inuyasha was much faster than her so he pulled her and she fell on his chest.

Inuyasha's heart was racing to fast for him, but he refused to lose. He was stubborn and determined, so sticking the stick of fish into the ground, and flipping her upside down on her back. "That was not nice," he growled.

"Inuyasha, get off." she said with a breathless voice that gave him goose bumps.

He refused to give up, although he knew that he was very wrong, that he was going against all his rules to not touch her, but his sense was dissolving by the second as she lay underneath him. He could only cling on to his stubbornness.

"I'm still waiting to hear your name. We can stay like this all day. You better tell me, or I won't let you go," he said.

"Inuyasha, I can't tell you." She pleaded

He leaned down to smell her neck and felt her shiver. "Tell me." he said in her ear.

Inuyasha knew that was wrong but he could not help but being so fascinated by her reactions. It was fun to bother her.

"Stop cheating. I won't tell you.," she said angrily and he felt that maybe he took his joke too far.

"I have to know," he said. It was driving him crazy. Who was she? "You can keep all your secrets but I just want one. Tell me your name."

He could see her confusion and attraction for him in her eyes. She was so cute when her face was so red.

"Inuyasha! Sit!" she screamed to his surprise then to his surprise, she became redder.

She glared at him and he started laughing then let her go as he rolled on his back, still laughing. She tried to grab the fish again, but he grabbed it first, then he grabbed her, so she fell onto his lap.

"Stop! Playing! Around!" she shouted as she reached for the fish that he was holding above her head..

He pulled her waist tighter, "Tell me"

She buried her face in his shirt. "I can't tell you."

What was so wrong about her telling her name? She covered her face with her hands. Was she crying again? He stopped laughing.

"Please stop asking so many questions," she begged.

"It is just a name."

"Then let it go," she sobbed into his hands.

He narrowed his eyes, "Uncover your face." He did not smell any tears. She had to faking it.

"Why?" she asked softly.

Inuyasha did not want to let go of her or the fish, "Let me see," he insisted. "You aren't even crying. Stop trying to make me feel sorry for you. I want an answer."

She uncovered her face and Inuyasha did not see any tears.

"I won't tell you." she said.

"You are such a jerk. I'm trying to do the right thing!" she screamed.

He did not flinch even though his ear was ringing. She was loud for a human girl. "Tell me."

She looked so miserable that he almost told her nevermind. She could continue being called wench. If her name was that important that she was so stubborn and even fake cry then she could keep her stupid secrets. Stupid girl. Ahh- regret. There it was. He was such an idiot following this girl that would not even give her name.

He thought for a minute that she was not like all the others. He thought she was different, but she was not. Inuyasha was getting more upset by the second. He tried to stay calm, but he was angry.

Why was she hiding this? What else was she hiding? He should not be so comfortable with her. She was all wrong. Who knows how bad the secrets are that she has. He was not about to ruin his life over a girl. She was probably the worst. Why else was she looking for a half-demon? No decent girl or priestess would talk to him. She was bad news.

He was not going to be tricked by her beautiful eyes and sweet scent. He was going to be immune against it all.

He wasn't going to melt one inch. Not a single inch. Stupid girl probably had a stupid name. If she did not tell him her name, he swore that he would leave her right now.

He will let go of her right now and never look back.

Then to his surprise, she looked at him with real tear stained eyes and whispered.

"Kagome. My name is Kagome."

It was a nice name.


	5. Nice and Easy

I regret taking down this story since it is a hassle to try to re post each chapter one at a time...Oh well..I will not do that again. I guess I just got stage fright. Writing is so scary. Thanks kokoronagomu for reading this again.

**5\. Nice and Easy**

* * *

She was so mad. When did he get so forward? Where were the beads of subjugation when she needed it? What a jerk! Burning with the wish to sit Inuyasha into next week, Kagome glared at Inuyasha while she ate her slightly burned fish.

She did not speak for a while. She was mad. Kagome needed to get home.

Back to the other Inuyasha that was waiting for her. They still needed to fight Naraku. She had jewel shards with her, which was going already attracting demons even if they did not know what it was.

Frustration made her want to scream. She had no one except for this Inuyasha, who so different but still the same. She regretted that never put any effort in her training. If she had trained than she would not need help.

Inuyasha was different when he was younger. She was floored by how much more innocent he seemed. Whenever he laughed, she thought her heart would stop. He seemed so much lighter than before.

Did Kikiyo change him that much? Had she hurt him that much? That he became so bitter.

Then again, didn't she become more bitter since she met him? She used to be more carefree before she met Inuyasha. Before she learned that love was wonderful and painful. All her friends always wanted to fall in love, and she played along with them. She could not explain to them that it was better to never know what love was. It was much better to be innocent and laugh like you had no cracks on your heart. It was better to fight against Naraku then to get hurt by the person that you love.

Love sucked.

If she knew back then she never would have gave her heart away so easily. She would have put a lock on her heart and threw it into her closet. Her friends always said that as long as you kept you virginity than you kept your innocence. Innocence was not a physical thing. Whoever spread the rumor that innocence was physical was delusional. If she gave herself to Hojo and never saw him again, she doubted it would hurt at all. But it will hurt to walk away from Inuyasha that had never even kissed her.

The thought of never seeing Inuyasha made her heart hurt and it did not even happen, yet.

Love sucked.

She knows that day when she leaves that she would lose her innocence, but at least the jewel will be gone so she would not taint it.

She had already decided that she would leave after the final battle. It was selfish and cowardly. Her friends would be upset, but they loved her and would forgive her.

Before she had a great fantasy that she would marry, Inuyasha and their kids would play with Sango and Miroku's kids. Shippo would be a big brother that would protect them.

It was only lately that she accepted that it would never happen.

Inuyasha did not want her. Not in that way. She was just a friend. Sure, she was his best friend. His sister. The one that he would protect. But not the one that he would ever see in a special way.

Of course, he could not be with Kikiyo either. Kikiyo was dead and Inuyasha would not leave his friends to die. They had been through too much together. Fought for so much. Inuyasha made promises to protect them. They had made promises to him. Even Shippo made promises. They would always be together. They were not born together, but they became family. Inuyasha would not and could not abandon them for a ghost. Kagome knew that Inuyasha would never do that to them. She was the only one that was selfish. She would be the one to leave not him.

He probably would marry her if she sat him enough. But she did not want someone that did not want her.

Kagome had her pride after all. She refused to beg Inuyasha. She refused to fight for him. It was shameful. What would her mother say?

If he did not want her then she would swallow it. No matter how much it hurt.

Besides, it was probably for the best. Inuyasha was not exactly human. He would still be young when she became old. She would still die and leave him all alone.

Inuyasha and Kagome had no future anyway. They never did. It was not meant to be.

"Kagome, are we leaving or you going to sit there pouting like a little kid?" Inuyasha asked. "It is not good for us to stay in one place. You remember that Lord Usui passed the law to kill all demons on sight. Demon slayers are crawling all over the place. "

"Demon slayers? I thought there was only one village of demon slayers."

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose, "One village? The demon slayers are soldiers for the human lords. They do not live in villages. They are hired mercenaries that are trying to exterminate all demons."

"Why?" Sango was a demon slayer and she would not kill innocent demons.

"Where you under a rock? Lord Usui is angry ever since a demon killed his wife. He does not see demons as innocent. He has an army of demon slayers and he is not the only one. I swear they were just looking an excuse to get of all the demons. I'm a half-demon but they do not see that as innocent either. I try to stay out of there way. I don't see why a demon and human war is any of my business."

Kagome knew that the past was full of prejudice but extermination. She had always wondered why they were called demon exterminators.

Why had Inuyasha saved Sango? He knew what she was. Then again, at the time the demon slayers lived in one village hidden away. Maybe they had lost this war and went into hiding. That day she remembered how Sango had attacked Inuyasha. She had been so full of hate and so sure that Inuyasha was her enemy.

Sango, the last demon slayer. Who should kill every demon but takes care of Kilala. That was now Inuyasha and Shippo's sister.

"Okay I'm coming but Inuyasha-?" She wrung her hands nervously, "Okay. I do not know how to say this. You will not believe me. I should not even try to explain it to you. But I do need your help. I need to find a witch to help me break a spell. I would do it myself, but I'm not exactly trained. I know that you do not know. I know that you have no reason to trust me. But I have no one else but you to ask. So can you please help me?"

Inuyasha did not speak but watched her for a moment before saying, "Woman. I am here aren't I? Stop your babbling. I already told you that we're leaving. I'm not letting you get eaten. If you are looking for a witch then there ain't one here. So let's keep going."

Kagome smiled at Inuyasha and his ability to make everything so simple. So easy. But that was the most charming part about Inuyasha. He didn't care about the details. He would run right through them. All Inuyasha cared about was the big picture.


	6. Witches and Memories

Thanks lilith-the-fallen.

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Disclaimer: Not my characters.

**Chapter 6: Witches and Memories**

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It was late by the time that they saw the ocean. The priestess at the last village had told them that the witch was on Kyushu Island. They were standing on the beach, and Inuyasha could see the island from here even if it was dark.

It took a few days of travel, but they were here. The beauty of the moonstruck waters and the smell of the ocean relaxed Inuyasha. His favorite place was right here. If he could live here then he would in a heartbeat.

But a hanyou had no place. He was a wanderer without a home that slept in trees. The last time he had a home was when his mother was alive, but that was a long ago. There was a time that he wished for a place to call home, but that was back when he was young and foolish. Every time that he tried to make a home then he was always chased out sometimes by demons, other times by humans.

But he did not need a home. It was better not to have to worry about being stuck on a place that you have to defend. Always worrying that your home will get destroyed or set on fire while you were away. Yes, Inuyasha would rather not worry about protecting a home.

Protecting anything left you wide open to your enemies. Yet, after spending so many years unattached and free, suddenly he was protecting this human.

Kagome, what a nice name.

Inuyasha thought about walking away after she dragged him to village after village. But if she wanted to go then he would go.

He would always save her, always catch her, and always protect her. Actually, he was more worried that she would leave him. Since why would anyone stay with him? But if something would happened to her, he got angry just thinking about it.

Of course, he was only a half-demon, but even if saving her, killed him, he would protect her.

But, he hated villages since humans always stared too much at him. He could find a witch without going to a village. No decent witch stayed in village. Witches were like him they stayed away from humans. Witches were humans born from a line of demon mages from the past. Demon mages had experimented on humans and made witches. Since witches had demonic powers, they lived away from humans. Humans treated them like outcasts. It was fair.

But humans were like that. They hated anyone that is different. They only tolerated priestess since their power comes from the gods. Priestesses were allowed among humans. Yet, they even were treated differently. Men would never marry them since they were afraid their power. Jealous women always spread rumors about them. They were alone too. Just like him, but not. But at least they were treated respectfully.

"Inuyasha are you okay?" Kagome asked with concern in her voice.

His heart stilled. Was she actually worried about him? "It's too late to get a boat to find this witch of yours, so we should just rest till morning." He quickly scanned the area to make sure it was safe. No one was out here except for them.

"You're right." she took off her shoes and held them in one hand as they walked down the beach together. Both of them blushing.

Finally, they found a good place to camp out at that was not completely exposed. Yet, Inuyasha could not stop his nerves. He needed to relax, but Kagome made him nervous. She was a walking and talking mystery. Not that he had much experience with girls, humans or demons.

"Want fish?" he asked teasingly. She did not want any fish since the other day when he had used the fish to learn her name.

Kagome's face darkened, "No, I'm going to make ramen. Please get me some firewood."

Inuyasha dashed off to get some wood. He moved so fast partly to show off to Kagome and partly since, he did not want to leave Kagome alone. She had been more relaxed since yesterday. He did not want to ruin the mood. It had not make sense why she had not wanted to tell him her name, but he decided not to worry about it, since she was over it.

Cleanly, his claws cut the branches of the nearest tree that he found. Kagome screamed. He rushed back to Kagome.

He did not see anyone. Did not smell anyone. Only saw Kagome pointing at the small sand crab her feet. For a second he hesitated, he wanted to laugh at her fear of the crab. How can a powerful priestess be scared of crabs?

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed and he grinned.

Leaping to get by her side faster, he picked up the crab by one claw with his own claws, and then he ran to drop it near the water. The crab wobbled into the ocean.

He went back to her and dropped the wood in front of her feet. "Don't like crabs?"

"It was going to bite me," she said as her cheeks flushed red.

Inuyasha smirked, "Crabs don't bite."

"Well- bite or pinch. Does it matter?" she sputtered.

He sat unceremoniously, "I thought you were going to make ramen."

Kagome wrinkled her nose but started to prepare the ramen. She had been panicking about changing the future, but decided that she could stop it. She had to erase Inuyasha's memory. It was the only way. Kagome had asked the priestess if she could teach her how.

She was so glad that she thought of a solution. She could have fun without worrying about a thing. Inuyasha would not remember. Once Miroku had told her about how spiritual powers can be used on someone's memories when someone went through a traumatic experience. He even admitted that he had done it to Sango after her family died. He said he touched her memories enough so that it would ease her grief. That was how she knew. Miroku warned her that memories could never really be erased; only repressed. If she repressed Inuyasha's memories from him that would be enough for the future to continue. It would be like a dream that you can't remember. It was for the best. No harm done.

Hopefully, it wouldn't be that hard. She would relax, but she was nervous.

Somehow being on the beach was so romantic that Kagome felt like they were on a date, so she kept blushing, and then Inuyasha would blush.

She really had to fix his memory so that the past or future could happen. Best plan that she ever thought of. Now she had nothing to worry about.

"Inuyasha, are you scared of anything?" she asked.

He sneered at her as if she said something stupid, pulled back his shoulders, "I'm not scared of anything."

Kagome rolled her eyes at his answer, "Okay, tell me what you hate then?"

Inuyasha's eyebrows furrowed as he thought, "I hate pepper. I don't get why humans like to put that in food. It's disgusting. Practically poison. Then it stinks."

Kagome smiled and he relaxed. "Did you ever even try it? Pepper makes food taste better," she asked.

He scowled at the memory and she pressed her lips together, "One time my mother made me try it. She put some on the fish. It was the worst thing I ever ate. First, it stank then my tongue burned. It felt like eating fire. I thought my tongue was going to come off. I was just a kid. My mother never gave me pepper again."

"Aren't you going to ask me what you are scared of?" She passed him a bowl of ramen that he sniffed nervously.

He shook his head, "I don't have to. You are scared of everything. You keep acting like something bad is going to happen." he took a bite of the ramen then grinned as he devoured the rest of the bowl.

Scared? Was she that obvious? She really needed to learn how to hide her feelings.

"I'm not scared of anything in real life. Except for horror movies"

He blinked in confusion, "Ho-rror moovi?"

Kagome waved her hands to dismiss it. She was not supposed to say weird things like that. "Never mind. I'm not scared of anything," she boasted, daring him to say otherwise. Forgetting his inability to take a hint.

"You were just running away from a baby crab." His jaw set. Stubborn as ever.

"Did not!" she protested. Technically she did not run. She stood still.

"Did too," he jeered and stood up.

She stood up too. Kagome refused to back down even if she had no subjugation necklace. She absolutely refused to let him say whatever stupid thing that popped in his head. Stupid, annoying boy with no manners.

Her hot temper rising like a summer hurricane, "I'm not scared."

Why couldn't he leave her a little dignity?

Why did he have to ruin the moment?

The moon looked so pretty. This beach was so beautiful. She never got to go to the beach with her friends since she was always in the feudal era looking for shards. Then they were here alone. It was so nice. But stupid Inuyasha would not know a romantic moment if it hit him in the face. Instead of enjoying the moment, he was smashing and smushing every last smidgen of romance.

"Are too!" He mocked her. "You were the one just hollering begging me to save from a crab."

She counted to ten silently. Then tried her hardest to remember that he was the guy that was her friend, the one that she loved even if he loved someone else. Okay- not helping temper.

Control priestess powers.

No purifying idiot hanyous. No. She would never. How awful. She really had to train. Her powers should listen to her.

She exhaled, "I did not. I just was wondering where you went. You took too long." Even that sounded like a horrible lie to her ears.

Inuyasha leaned back and crossed his arms in defiance, "But it is very stupid. You don't need to be so scared. I'm here. I will protect you."

Just like that all her anger left. She dropped to the sand. Confusion made her limbs weak. Her heart raced and a blush spread all over her. She dug her fingers in the sand and unsuccessfully tried to clear her head. Protect her? Protect her?

"Kagome? Are you sick?"


	7. The Island

Thank you kokoronagomu

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**7\. The Island**

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Kagome's face was red and no matter what she did the color refused to change back. So she ducked and sat far away then kept tugging at her clothes as she stared at her feet as if they were the most interesting feet ever, wiggling her toes helped bring her blush down.

She didn't know how to act or what to say. Kagome kept telling herself that this was not her Inuyasha, so she shouldn't be blushing so hard. That he would never remember any of this so she should not be nervous.

Kagome should tell him how she felt before she repressed his memories.

She would say that she wished she could stay by his side forever, Hug him whenever she wanted. For him to ask her to marry her and stay in the feudal era.

No way. She would never even as a joke. Kagome would never get those words out. She would be embarrassed

Besides Kagome was ready to move on. She was tired of loving. It was more than time to let it go. Inuyasha was her first love. Her mother had said that first love is like a first pancake that never turns out right since you are not ready.

There was so many times that she thought that Inuyasha was going to let go of Kikiyo, but every time when she was disappointed. Instead, it was that he almost let Kikiyo go, he almost was ready, almost loved her.

She didn't blame him. It was hard getting over your first love. She would know more than anyone, especially when you keep seeing them. One look put you back at square one. Then Kikiyo would always come back.

Kagome deserved more than almost. Almost love was not enough.

Maybe she would get a second love. Hojo? Too boring? Kouga? Probably only liked her to bother Inuyasha? Maybe Sessshoumaru? Cute but might kill her. Were these the only guys that she knew? Sad. She needed to meet more guys.

Maybe a mysterous new Inuyasha would beg her to stay with him, but she would say no. Then sit. Sit him for waiting to long.

Who cares?

At the end of the day, she owed Inuyasha her life many times over, so she should not ask anything from him.

She clapped hands and suddenly smiled as she ran past him, and went into the shallow water. Twisting and turning in the water in a dance to no music. The warm water and wet sand felt so nice. Until she tripped and Inuyasha caught her waist before she fell into the water.

"You should be careful," he advised her as he held her close.

She dipped her hand in the water then dripped water in his ears. What the? His eyes turned wide and he dropped her. Screaming, she fell backwards into the water. Stupid girl.

Immediately, she stood up, scooped a handful of water and threw it at him.

"What was that for?" Inuyasha growled getting irritated.

She giggled and tossed more water at him. He wasn't sure why she was acting so strange.

"Kagome, stop messing around." he warned.

She ignore him and threw more water and ran away. Inuyasha was confused and unsure what to do? Had she gone crazy? Or was this a game? If this was a game then he would win.

"Get back here," Then he jumped in front sending a huge splash that drenched as she screamed. He laughed at the pitiful expression on his face.

"Inuyasha!" she screamed.

He grinned crossing his arms, "You deserve it wench,"

She narrowed her eyes and put some of her powers into her hands and sent a mini wave to completely soak Inuyasha. No, she didn't just cheat. Two could play that game.

"Kagome," he swiped the water and sent a wave to soak her, but when she started to get washed away, he started to jump forward. He didn't want her to get her.

Then stopped when she put a barrier behind her and sent a huge wave to fall down on Inuyasha.

He sputtered with sea water in his mouth, then tried to get up, but she sent another wave then another wave.

"Wench!" he screamed. He was going to get her back for this.

But he couldn't get up, since she sent another wave, but he cut through it and leaped through the wall of water then snatched her up into the air, only to drop her screaming into the water.

"Inuyasha!"

Later on after Kagome gave up in a fit of giggles they returned to camp. it took awhile until they found a place to camp out to sleep since Kagome was convinced crabs lived in the last place.

Tomorrow they would go to the island. Since the full moon was tonight the new moon would be in about two weeks. What was he going to do? He could not leave Kagome for twenty four hours. Inuyasha sighed. Oh- well. He would deal with that later.

Kagome threw her hands on the table, "We need a boat!" she demanded.

The fisherman shook his head, "If you have no money than I can't help you."

"But we really need it. We just want to borrow it," she begged. If only Miroku was here. He is so good at negotiating. What would he say if he was here?

"Let's go Kagome." Inuyasha said.

She straighten up and tried to look as serious as possible at the fisherman, "Let's go. I don't want any boat from here anyway since clearly there is an ominous presence in here. You should ask a priest to come get rid of the restless spirit. Inuyasha let's go." she turned around.

"Wait!" the frightened fisherman called out, "Didn't you say that you are a priestess? Can't you get rid of the spirit?"

Kagome turned around and raised her eyebrows, "I could, but usually people calls priests for exorcisms and priestesses for healing."

The fisherman bowed his head, "My lady please give us your blessing and in return, I will let you use a boat."

Soon Inuyasha was hauling the boat on his shoulder and they left the grateful fisherman behind.

"Kagome, there wasn't really a spirit was there," he asked unsure if she would get offended and start screaming. It wasn't like he was a priest.

Her eyes sparkled, "Are you doubting my great spiritual powers?"

He decided not to answer and put the boat into the water. They both climbed in and he started rowing in the direction of the island.

"Inuyasha, I did lie back there to the fisherman. Are you angry at me for lying?" she asked.

He paused, "Why? It got us the boat. You told that moron the truth that we needed the boat, but he didn't want to help us. So he deserves it. No one wants his stupid boat. We are going to give it back to him when we get back."

"So, it's okay that I lied?" she asked.

Inuyasha nodded, "Who cares about that guy? Sometimes you have lie to survive. People who always tell the truth are those people that have nothing to hide. Privileged bastards that have easy lives. For some of us we have to lie to get by."

"But what if he needed the boat too? He is a fisherman. What if his family doesn't eat today because I lied."

"What?" Inuyasha snorted. "Kagome, when I took this boat from the back, I saw plenty of boats. That man is just greedy. He thinks everyone steals so he didn't want to give you his boat for even an hour or two. I hate greedy people. Always hoarding their stuff. Never sharing a sip of water if you were dying of thirst. Don't worry about that guy."


	8. Chips and Trust

Thanks chikaalternita and everyone else for reading.

**Chapter 8: Chips and Trust**

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"Kagome, close your eyes," Inuyasha demanded again.

The last thing he wanted was for her to start screaming and yelling as soon as she saw them, and then they would call the attention of whatever ate those people. Not that he was scared, he was Inuyasha, and scared was not a feeling he ever had. But that was gross and he would rather stay away from whatever did that.

"Why do I have to close my eyes?" Kagome asked again.

Inuyasha sighed. She was stubborn. But he was glad that humans cannot see that well. She could not see the dead half-eaten humans hanging on the trees. They were just on the boat and still had not reached the shore.

"Just do it, or I will close them for you," Inuyasha snapped impatiently. "Trust me you don't want to look. Why can't you listen to me?"

"But-" she protested.

Inuyasha blew up. What was with this girl? He was trying to help her the best he could, he asked her one little thing, and she had to hurry up. They were getting closer.

His fierce amber eyes locked with hers, "Do you trust me or not?"

Kagome swallowed hard.

His eyes narrowed, "It is not a hard question."

She nodded.

Inside he breathed a sigh of relief. "Fine, if you really trust me then listen when I tell you to do something. Close your damn eyes." Inuyasha growled.

Inuyasha docked the boat, put her bag on his shoulders, and then picked her up in his arms. "Don't open your eyes until I tell you," he threatened.

"Inuyasha? What is that smell?" she asked nervously. It reeked.

"Stop talking and keep your eyes closed," he snapped quietly.

Immediately, she quieted, he was pleased to see that she had listened to him. Inuyasha kept walking until he could not smell the dead anymore. Inuyasha did not see whoever had done it. But he did not care. He wanted to find this so-called witch and get away from here. Unless she was the one that did this then he was going to kill her and Kagome was just going to find another witch. He had the feelings that they were being watched, but he did not see or smell anyone. It was odd. As if whatever it was. It was not alive. The undead was the only explanation. He had heard of them, but had never seen them. He did not like this at all.

"What is going on?" she asked afraid of the answer, but he did not answer her.

After a while, Inuyasha set her down so that she can stand.

"Can I open my eyes now?" she asked again.

He smiled. "Yea, open your eyes."

Kagome sighed, "That priestess gave us directions to find the witch." She pointed at the map in her hand. "Let's go to the left."

They walked, she could tell that he was tense, not that she felt great, since it was so eerie. The sun was out but it was cool in a creepy way as if it were night. Unconsciously, she leaned closer to Inuyasha and grabbed his arm. He did not move away, and she realized that he was on guard waiting for the attack.

Suddenly, he looked at her hands on his arm in surprise, "Kagome?"

She jumped away in embarrassment. But to her surprise, he pulled her back.

"Stay close in case we get attacked," said Inuyasha.

She blushed and looked at the ground. He was right, but her cheeks were bright red, she was lame, it was only his arm, and she should be paying attention.

By lunchtime, no one attacked them, so Kagome lost interest in waiting for this threat that never came out. If they were not coming out then she was going to eat. She took her book bag from Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

He nodded, and she pulled a bag of chips out of her bag. He raised his eyebrows. She opened the bag, popped a few chips into her mouth, and raised one above his lips for him. And waited for him to open his mouth.

She really did not think about it. She just wanted to give him a chip, a chip that he stared at as if it was poison.

He eyed it without opening his mouth, but she insisted. "Please, Inuyasha, try just one."

"What is it?" he asked skeptically.

She pouted as if she was hurt, "Don't you trust me?" she teased.

He opened his mouth without a second complaint, and she stared in shock for a moment.

"Woman, hurry up before I get bugs in my mouth," he said gruffly.

She dropped it in, he chewed, and then a wide smile spread across his face.

He opened his mouth again and Kagome giggled before she gave him another one.

"Another," he demanded.

She gave him another and his lips caught her fingers, her eyes widened.

"More," he repeated.

Kagome grinned then proceeded to feed him the rest of the chips. She forgot to eat any herself.

She reached into her bag to get another bag of chips.

Inuyasha tried to take it and she pulled back, but he took it anyway. He opened the bag pulled out a chip then raised his hand close to her lips.

"Inuyasha?" she gasped.

"Eat," he insisted.

She suppressed a smile and let him feed her. She was surprised that she could eat as much as her stomach filled with butterflies. Whenever she tried to stop, he insisted that she continue.

She felt like she was about to die. Inuyasha is feeding her. If Shippo or Miroku saw this, they would never let him live it down.

"What's so funny?" he growled.

She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together, "Nothing. More please."

He fed her another chip and his finger lingered and trembled on her lower lip. Butterflies exploded in her stomach. Opening her eyes to see Inuyasha's eyes intent on her and nothing else.

Her heart flooded with happiness.

Then she saw it staring at them and a chill went through her.

It was a demon female with red eyes that stared at them like prey with long, green, messy hair. Scars ran down the woman's cheeks. She had fangs and pale skin, but what was making Kagome panic with every passing second was that the woman was transparent.

A ghost.

A demon ghost.


	9. Standing Straight

**Chapter 9: Standing Straight**

Inuyasha did not want to turn around to see what made Kagome so upset. He wanted to stay just where he was. He sighed and put the chip back in the bag. Briefly, he considered snatching Kagome and going far away. But he was sure that would make him look like a coward and Inuyasha would rather die. Sure, he was poor, had no one, except himself. He should just disappear into a hole somewhere. His brother, Sesshoumaru would be so happy. Inuyasha made a decision long ago that it was enough and that he would respect himself even if no one else did.

He was the son of the Great Dog Demon, and that was the only reason that Inuyasha stood straight and never backed down. He had the blood of leaders on both sides. His mother's family was also nobility and the men were strong. Even if he had nothing. He had that. His mother had taught him to be proud.

"Lord Inuyasha, you are looking more like your father," the too familiar voice said.

Inuyasha cringed and turned to see Chiyo. It had been a long time. She was not someone that he ever wanted to see again.

Chiyo was another woman that loved his father. Why did so many women fall in love with his father? Even now, that the old man was dead and this woman was dead, she was still thinking of him.

He wondered if his mother realized how many women loved his father. He never met his father nor did he understand women at all, but it was his old man, and it was too gross to think about it too deeply. But they were not good at all. Bad all the way. His father attracted the worst sort of women. No wonder he fell in love with his mother. She was the nicest one out of all of them.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at the ghost.

"Inuyasha, I loved your father and he rejected me. For a human," the demon ghost focused on Kagome. "A filthy human. How dare he reject me? I was a dog demon from one of the strongest families. I would have been a great Lady of the West if he wanted a new one."

This thing that used to be Chiyo had eaten those humans that they saw earlier. He wanted to destroy it and go back to eating that strange food with Kagome. He did not want to deal with his father's ex-lovers.

He stood in front of Kagome with a nasty scowl on his face, "Chiyo? You're dead. Why are still worried about my old man?"

"Inuyasha, love outlives death. True love is forever, time, distance, and death cannot move it. You think I want to love him. I try to stop. I try to stop every day. But I see his face everywhere. I am stuck here on Earth. Wandering and hunger that I cannot satisfy. It is all your father's fault. He died, but he should have been there. I died because he was not there. It is your fault. He died because of you."

"Kagome, get behind me," he growled as he felt his demonic powers awakening in anger, then he shoved Kagome aside when she took longer than he wanted.

This demon had too much power. They were in trouble. She had to get them out of here. Already Inuyasha was losing control of his demon side.

She gripped his shoulder tightly, "Inuyasha, calm down. You did not have anything to do with that. It wasn't your fault."

He blinked, "How do you know? You don't know anything," he said gruffly as he struggled to control his powers. He hated when this happened. His demon side wanted to take over and rip everything apart. Breathe out. Breathe in.

"Inuyasha it is not your fault." Kagome touched his shoulder but he pulled away.

"Shut up," he snapped at Kagome unable to stop.

Chiyo smirked, "Today, I will punish you for your crime of killing your father."

Kagome's heart stopped before her anger grew. "Inuyasha didn't kill his father! He was just a baby. He had nothing to do with it."

He attacked and Chiyo disappeared and reappeared so it was hard to get a hit.

Once she disappeared, he could not see or sense her. And she did not hesitate to take advantage of it. Then all he felt was ice-cold pain as the invisible blows hit him. He jumped away and was dropped back to the ground again. It hurt so much. Like getting stabbed by icicles. He tried to force her off, but he could not see her. Kagome shot her arrow and Chiyo leaped back to escape.

Kagome ran to his side, throwing up a barrier, and shook his shoulder, "Inuyasha! Get up!" Inuyasha did not look good. His skin was too pale. She was afraid of him transforming.

Inuyasha staggered as he stood, "I'm okay Kagome." Couldn't she leave him alone and nag him later.

"No! You are not!" she shouted.

"Take down this barrier!" He didn't care if he was injured. It just meant that he was still alive. But she needed to let him finish.

Kagome crossed her arms.

He clenched his fists, "We can't stay in this barrier!"

"Yes, we can."

"Are you crazy? You can't keep this up! I can tell it is taking your energy. I have to fight!" Inuyasha screamed getting more annoyed with each second.

"But you are hurt!"

"I'm okay Kagome."

"No, you are not."

"We can't stay in this barrier."

"I have to fight."

"But you can't see her. She is too strong and you keep missing. Don't deny it. She will kill you. You can't fight!"

"Yes, I can! She just keeps disappearing," Inuyasha was furious. He would rather die than give up. He would figure you it. He did not care.

"You can't see her?" Kagome's expression flashed from shock to understanding.

"You can?" Inuyasha demanded to know, when she nodded, he said "Let's go. You should have finished me off when you had the chance. Now it's over for you."

Kagome climbed on Inuyasha's back for the first time or next time depending on how you look at it.

"Behind you!"

"To the Left!"

It didn't take long to kill the demon ghost. She screamed as Inuyasha's claws sliced her in half.

"Ahhh!" Kagome screamed and Inuyasha looked quickly for danger. "My chips are smashed! Inuyasha Sit!"

"I don't want to sit." Inuyasha frowned

She only screamed angrily.


	10. All Wrong

**Author's Note**

**Thanks IndigoArcher 89, chikaalternita, RosesandRavens, ****kokoronagomu, lillith-the-fallen**

* * *

**Chapter 10: All Wrong**

"Put me down!" she screamed angrily.

Ignoring her shrill screams, Inuyasha ran. Squealing, she buried her face into his chest. He leapt onto the tall tree branches. Inuyasha wished he could fly, but this was as close as he could get. He loved when he raced against the wind. He also loved when Kagome's skin changed colors from red to white to green. It was interesting. Maybe more than interesting. Bothering Kagome was amusing. He had never met anyone like her. She really helped him with Chiyo. That was unexpected. Inuyasha was not used to getting help, just getting assaulted and bullied.

Grinning an evil grin, "What did you say?" he asked while increasing his speed. Inuyasha knew it was wrong, but Kagome got cuter when she was mad.

"Let go of me!" she repeated louder. Her eyes squeezed shut.

Without warning, he tossed her into the air like a child, but with his strength, Kagome went high into the air. Her expression was priceless with her mouth hanging open in shock.

"Inuyasha!" she shouted. Falling, reaching, grabbing nothing, but empty air, she screamed. "Jerk! You better catch me!"

In a flash, he leaped, snatched her, and gracefully dropped them to the ground. She punched his chest, which of course did not hurt him at all.

Her face became redder and redder, "Inuyasha, that was not funny. Stop joking around. "

She was beautiful even when she was angry. How could one girl make him this happy? She wasn't even trying. He ignored her and snatched her up. He did not stop running until he found a good tree.

"What are we doing? It is not dark, yet.," she grumbled.

"The sun will set in an hour and I don't want to sleep on the ground. Not after that crazy demon ghost. I won't drop you. I swear." He said with a wicked grin.

He did not want to sleep on the ground since that meant that he had to let her go. He did not want to. Not right now. Inuyasha rarely had any good luck or any fun. Meeting someone like Kagome was not normal for him.

"Jerk." Then she snuggled into his chest as if she had done it a million times. He almost groaned. It must be a dream. It was so wrong on so many levels. This was never supposed to happen. He would have a permanent blush, if she kept being this nice.

No trace of fear in her scent. Not when he met her and not now when he was about to make her sleep in a tree. "Kagome, why aren't you scared of me?" he asked quietly as they watched the sunset.

She blinked in confusion, "What do you mean? Why would I be scared of you?"

"Just- you shouldn't be so relaxed with me. I'm a monster." It made no sense to him. She should not be this comfortable.

She just held him tighter, "Don't say that. Inuyasha you are not a monster. I don't want you to ever say that again."

His mind turned to mush for a second as he registered the feel of her in his arms until he circled back to find the thought that he had lost. "But I am not exactly human. I could kill you. Look at these claws. I don't have human nails like you. I am not even a good guy. You shouldn't be so trusting."

"Inuyasha, there is no one that I trust more than you."

He froze, "How can you say that? That's just crazy. You must not have anyone." That must be the only reason that she was with him. Desperation must be the positive answer with this is just a trick at the other end.

"What?" she choked.

Inuyasha sensing her mood darken felt guilty, "Don't worry. I will protect you. It would get boring if you got killed."

"You always just want something from me," she whispered sadly.

He froze. "I never asked you for anything."

"Forget it."

"No, Kagome, what are you accusing me of?" His amber eyes narrowed. "I am just trying to help you. That is the only reason that I am sticking around."

Kagome shook her head, "I know. Thank you. I appreciate it. I'm so glad that I found you. I was so worried, but when I saw you. I knew that I would be okay."

He frowned, "How can you be so sure that I wouldn't kill you? Most humans are afraid of me."

She giggled and he growled.

"Inuyasha, you would never hurt me."

He scowled at her. How could she be so sure? She must be lying. He had to know if it was true. If she really trusted him. He leaned down and grazed his fangs against her neck. She gasped. Instead of getting scared, she sighed softly and leaned closer. Inuyasha didn't know what to think, but that reaction was not what he expected. She smelled even sweeter and he was getting light headed. He did not move back instead he breathed in. She did not move away and his mind felt cloudy.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered in a breathless voice. "What are you doing?"

"You shouldn't trust me," he whispered against her skin.

Especially if she knew how attracted he was to her. It shocked him how he good it felt just to touch her. It calming and confusing. Her scent and her smile. It felt like a battle just to pretend that she did not affect him at all. It overwhelmed him. It was not that he had never seen pretty girls before, but this was different. He was drawn to her against his will. He stared at her all the time. It was like Kagome took up all the air and space inside of him. This was like playing with fire and it burned, but it felt so nice. He really wanted to not feel any of this. He liked being in control and Kagome stole it all away without even noticing.

That was the worst part.

She did not even notice at all. He would get hold onto his control with all his strength but sometimes like right now. It was slipping due. He really wasn't a nice guy like she thought, but he wanted to be better for her, just so she could keep looking at him with those wide, innocent eyes. It was wrong to look at her with anything besides innocence. All wrong.

She licked her lips as blush and goose bumps spread across her skin, "Inuyasha."

"You should stay away from me," he warned her.

"I trust you."

He caressed his check against her smooth neck, "You shouldn't." To his shock, she blushed so hard.

Kagome turned away, "Inuyasha, don't do that."

He frowned and lowered his gaze, "You shouldn't trust me."

She lifted his chin, "Inuyasha, I trust you. I know you would never hurt me."

"You don't know anything about me."

Kagome twisted out of his grasp and fell. Inuyasha's heart nearly stopped. Without a second thought, he dove in after her with his heart cracking into a million pieces. Right before she hit the ground, he tucked her on top of him to cushion the fall, and held her tightly with shaking arms.

"What did you do that for?!" he shouted angrily.

Kagome's eyes twinkled with happiness as she lay on top of him, "I trust you."

All his anger evaporated, "You are crazy." Was she testing him?

"Maybe." She smiled.

He narrowed his eyes and took them back to their branch

"Inuyasha," she said slowly. "What if we can't find a witch to help me go home?"

"We will find one."

She sighed, "I hope so."

He really didn't understand why she needed a witch to go home, but maybe she was from a faraway place. She did wear strange clothes. Her home must be a strange place. Then he had a horrible thought, "Will I never see you again?"

She smiled a soft smile full of secrets. "Of course. You will see me again. It will not be for a long time. But I will come back and we will see each other."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "Long time. What do you know about time? What is a long time for you is nothing for me."

She laughed, "I'll be back before you can miss me."

He doubted that. The thought of her leaving already hurt. It shouldn't hurt. Inuyasha was used to being alone. He did it for most of his life. Yet, this girl took away that lonely ache that had always been in his heart. He pulled her closer and nuzzled her silky black hair. It was crazy. He shouldn't trust her. He shouldn't trust anyone at all especially a priestess. Yet, when he looked into her warm eyes, his heart melted. It was as if all his defenses that he worked so hard to build, Kagome walked right through them. Then she would walk right out. He would be alone again and the idea hurt. He wanted to keep her. But he had nothing to offer her. Kagome deserved a husband better than him. But he wished that it could be him, if only for the reason that he could hold her in his arms like this every night.

"Do you have to go?" he asked quietly.

She nodded, "Yes, my friends are waiting for me."

Friends? Of course she had friends. Kagome was really nice. She wasn't lonely like him. She had people. What if she had a husband? He inhaled. She was untouched, but she must have someone that she loves. There was no way that she didn't have anyone. But the way she looked at him as if there was no one else. There couldn't be. Right? Yet, sometimes she looked so sad. Besides, he was always unlucky and no one would ever love a half of anything.

It was all wrong in every way.


	11. Tricked

**Author's Note**

**Thank you IndigoArcher89 and Kokoronagomu **

* * *

**Chapter 11: Tricked**

It felt good to be wrapped in Inuyasha's arms with his silky hair strands falling against her back. Kagome felt safe and content, so she fell asleep right away.

But she didn't have a good night's sleep. That night, she had a nightmare about the final battle with Naraku. It was a disaster. Correction. It was the worst disaster ever. Nothing could be worse than seeing the friends you love injured.

Sango was pale and holding her bleeding side, Miroku's wind tunnel wrist was twisted. Inuyasha had blood all over him, and with the way his eyes were flashing red, she knew that most of it was his. Even Kilala couldn't stand. Kagome couldn't believe her eyes. They were losing badly, and Naraku was winning.

How did it get this bad? Why couldn't she remember? Usually they had a fighting chance, but this was a mistake. They needed to escape before it was too late. It was not worth it. Let Naraku go. Her friends needed their injuries to be looked at. Kagome tried to tell Miroku that it was time to go. But Miroku didn't even glance at her. She ran to Sango, but Sango also didn't look at her. She tried screaming at Inuyasha, but he also ignored her. What was wrong with everyone?

Kagome tried to use her arrows, but it was as if she was invisible. She tried screaming and yelling but no one saw her. She couldn't help at all.

"Stupid girl should have been here," Inuyasha said gruffly.

"I am here!" Kagome snapped but no one heard her.

Naraku was more powerful than she had ever seen him. No matter what anyone did nothing went through Naraku's barrier. When did Naraku get so strong? It wasn't possible. He didn't have all the shards, but he felt stronger than any demon that she had ever seen.

The battle felt like forever while Kagome watched in horror.

Sango fell in a pool of her own blood.

Miroku were stabbed in the chest by Naraku's tentacle.

Then Naraku transformed into a giant demon spider and ripped Inuyasha apart.

The blood was everywhere. Her soul shattered into a million pieces. They were all dead! Her friends were dead!

Then with a gasp she woke up in Inuyasha's arms with him staring at her with concern. She felt completely lost and relieved as to how he was still alive.

"Kagome," Inuyasha called shaking her shoulder.

Just a dream.

She realized then blinked back her tears and came back to her senses. It was still dark outside.

"What's wrong?" Inuyasha asked with genuine concern.

"Bad dream," she whispered into his red haori.

It wasn't real. She tried to tell herself, but what if it came true. What if the final battle happened while she was here? What if they fought Naraku without her? She touched the shards around her neck. What if after everything that it wasn't enough? They would die.

She had to get back as soon as possible. She couldn't leave her friends to die. She had to go help.

Help? Tears filled her eyes. Even if she went back she wasn't ready to fight that Naraku. Even without the shards, he was too strong. Kagome wasn't ready. Inuyasha wasn't ready either. None of them were ready. They were going to die.

Inuyasha patted her back, "Kagome, it was only a dream. Stop crying already."

"Sorry," she said softly. She wiped her tears with her sleeves and closed her eyes.

"What's wrong wench?"

Kagome smiled a little, "Inuyasha, we have to get stronger. We have to train."

"Train for what? I'm plenty strong as it is," he boasted.

"Inuyasha, listen to me. I know it won't make sense. I know that you have no reason to believe me. I just hope that you trust me."

He scowled, "Of course I trust you."

"We have a powerful enemy. He is stronger than anyone you ever met. He is evil and smart. He wants to kill us."

Inuyasha chuckled, "He can try."

"I'm serious." She should have known that he will take this lightly. "He will not come after us anytime soon. He is getting ready. It won't be for many years. But the next time you see me. You have to be ready."

"Who is it?"

"I don't know his name, but I know that he is our enemy." she lied.

Inuyasha didn't speak for a minute.

Kagome wished that she could give him Tessaiga , but after she left he would have no human to protect. Plus she couldn't change the future. If Inuyasha had Tessaiga the day that he was pinned to the tree then Sesshomaru would steal it. Tessaiga was safer where it was. But-

"Inuyasha, you need to learn how to use a sword." she insisted.

He shook his head, "I don't need a sissy sword when I have my claws. I'm not a weak human."

She was tempted to say that his brother used swords but then decided not. Inuyasha was good at using Tessaiga but not that good. He won many battles on strength and luck. He never had the time to learn how to use a sword. If he started learning now then he would have no problem welding Tessaiga later on.

Kagome tried to not look impatient,"You have to learn how to learn how to use a sword. It is a matter of life and death. You have to."

Inuyasha set her down on the ground and crossed his arms, "I do not!"

"Yes! You do!"

"No! I don't!"

Kagome rubbed her forehead, "Inuyasha, you have to do this."

"I don't got to do anything!"

"Okay, why don't you want to learn how to use a sword?" she asked. There must be a reason.

"I don't want to. I don't need it and you can't make me." he growled at her.

Kagome stomped her foot, "Inuyasha! Please you have to do this."

"Stop all this yelling. Even if I want to learn how to use a sword. I don't go no sword. So drop it." he challenged her.

"We can go ask Totosi." she suggested.

He narrowed his eyes, "How do you know that old bat?"

Oops. "I never met him, but I heard of him."

"It don't matter. I'm not going to him. I don't even know where he is. We can't go. End of discussion" Inuyasha said smiling.

Kagome grinned, "I know where to find him."

Inuyasha refused to take or carry her, so it took hours to find the village. Inuyasha was just misunderstanding her. It is not that she said that he was weak. She sighed as she looked at the scowl on Inuyasha's face. What was wrong with training? It didn't mean that you were weak. But Inuyasha was still mad at her. Kagome kicked the pebble near her foot wishing that it was Inuyasha's ego.

Stupid thick-headed idiot.

But finding him a teacher would be hard. Shame, she couldn't ask Sesshoumaru. He was great with swords. She giggled as imagined asking him. He would never help Inuyasha. They would have to find someone else.

Kagome and Inuyasha arrived at a village after walking for a few hours.

"I don't know why anyone told you to come to this island. Didn't you notice anything strange at all?" the headsman asked them.

Kagome nodded, "We were attacked by a crazy demon ghost."

"Didn't you see the dead bodies in the front of the island?" the elderly man scolded them.

She looked at Inuyasha who didn't answer. Was that why he told her to close her eyes?

The headsman looked Kagome dead in the eye, "This island is cursed. Everyone dies every month. The island sinks to the bottom of the ocean. It will happen today at sunset."

The ground shook and Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's shoulder to steady herself.


	12. Cursed Island

**12\. Cursed Island**

* * *

"What did you say!" Inuyasha shouted at the top of his lungs. Inuyasha's eyebrow twitched in shock. He did not just hear that what he thought he heard. It wasn't possible. Either he was crazy or this man was crazy. He voted for the creep.

"This island will sink today. We will all die," The old man repeated for the third time. Only this time much more slower. Inuyasha let out a string of curses under his breath and the headman flinched.

Inuyasha pointed his claw at the frightened old man, "We! Old man, we ain't dying. Speak for yourself!"

"Stop Inuyasha," Kagome smiled stiffly at the headman. Was she defending this man that she had never seen before? Inuyasha didn't like it at all.

He growled at her, "Stop! What? We ain't dying! No way!"

Kagome bowed slightly, "Excuse my friend. He is just upset. Can you explain what is going on? How could it be possible that this island sinks every month?"

"Children, why don't you come in?" The old man asked. "I am too old to keep standing and talking."

Inuyasha frowned, "Hell no- We were not going inside. We are leaving."

He turned to walk away until he felt Kagome dragging his sleeve. He felt his temper snapping. Was she actually trying to make him stay? No one can tell him what to do. Especially not a human girl. Even if she did have the softest skin and the most amazing eyes. He was a male; therefore, he was in charge. She couldn't challenge him. He was right. Plus he was way older than her. She needed to listen to him.

Kagome glared a demon-worthy glare at Inuyasha and flared her powers. He shuddered. What the-! Kagome was scary. She wouldn't purify him? Right?

He should go by himself and let her drown with her new friend. Why did he keep protecting this girl that he just met? Why did she expect so much from him? He didn't owe her a God damn thing. He wasn't going to die just so she can be polite. Every man or demon for themself. Screw her. He didn't sign up for this shit.

Then Kagome's eyes flashed with tears and Inuyasha looked away crossing his arms. Maybe he shouldn't argue with her right now. He would give her a few minutes to see what a complete waste of time that this was. If she took too long than he would drag her out by force.

The servant rushed to get tea while they sat down. In a few minutes, she came back to set tea down three cups of tea.

The headman sipped his tea before speaking, "This used to be a happy village many years ago. My family settled here generations ago because it was such a relaxing and beautiful place. Who knew that it would become our prison? I don't even know what day it is. I can't keep track. It is hard to keep track of time when you are dying and coming back to life. Death ruins your sense of time."

They didn't touch the steaming cups in front of them. Inuyasha could feel his agitation and temper rising. Kagome gently touched his arm and his anger receded.

He scowled. How did she have this affect on him? It wasn't right. Stupid woman not listening to him.

"But I don't understand. Can you please explain?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha regretted coming inside here. It was a huge waste of time. He was going to tell her to cut the crap later. No reason for her to be polite and dead. This old man was dying and wanted to steal their attention until he left. If this island was sinking than he wanted to leave not listen to old man's rumblings. They were not going to die here.

Kagome cleared her throat, "Please explain what is going on."

Inuyasha growled under his breath.

The old man's eyes glazed over as he became lost in his memories, "It is my fault. It is all my fault. My grandson told me that their was a girl that he wanted to marry. At first I was excited for him. Until he told me that it was the young witch. I told him no. We argued. He was so upset with me. But everyone in the family took my side. We didn't want that witch in the family. I was sure that she put a spell on him to make him think he was in love with her. There was no way that my good grandson would love her. But because my grandson was always a good boy. He told the girl that he couldn't see her anymore. She became angry. The whole island lit up like a storm. I never seen anything like it in my long life. She was devastated then she killed herself by jumping into the volcano and that was the first time that the island sunk into the ocean. We are forced to watch the island fall away until we are all that is left. No one knows what spell she cast or what her last words were. However ever since that day we have been cursed to die over and over again. Cursed for many years."

"So," Kagome looked uncomfortable. Inuyasha could tell that she was on the edge of her politeness. "Why don't you try to escape? Why are people celebrating? I mean. Why aren't they scared if the island is going to sink."

Inuyasha was wondering the same exact thing. If everyone was going to die than why were they dancing and singing instead of trying to escape.

The headman shook his head, "We can't escape. The spell forbids us to leave. We are trapped here. It is useless to escape. It is better to enjoy the last moments for your life. Some choose to dance, others like me choose to pray. I think everyone has the right to choose how they spend their last moments."

Inuyasha was furious. What a waste of time to come to this island! He was so mad. That is why he hated asking for help. Some people will give you the wrong advice to send you the wrong way. He vowed to get his revenge later. But first he had to protect Kagome. He didn't have time for these crazy people. What stupid morons! If they knew that they were going to die how could they just stay and celebrate. They were partying and dancing. Food was being cooked. They were singing and laughing. How could you have a party if you knew that you were going to die? Sure they would come back to life, but how can they live under this curse. Since they were not under this curse then they had to go.

Inuyasha's patience snapped and he stood up, "Kagome, we are leaving." She stared at him as if she was embarrassed by his rudeness. He couldn't care less about politeness. They needed to go. Who cares what this old man thought of them? He considered slinging her over his shoulder, but luckily Kagome stood up. She better stand up.

She bowed, "I'm sorry. We must go. Thank you for speaking with us."

He was fast so he was confident that they could get out of here. He adjusted Kagome's bag on his back then he started to pick her up then he hesitated to pick her up.

"Kagome, what is wrong with you?!"

She blinked, "What did I do?"

"Wasting time talking to that old man when you know that I wanted to leave."

Kagome narrowed her eyes, "I just wanted information."

"He said the island is sinking today. What more information do you need? Unless you want to die?" He growled.

"But-" Kagome stuttered. "He was old and he is dying. I didn't want to be rude."

"We don't have time for your politeness."

Kagome opened her mouth than closed it, "We don't have time for your rudeness either."Inuyasha, do you think we can make it back. We did come a long way."

Inuyasha glared at her, "Don't say dumb stuff like that. We are getting out of here."

"Okay."

"Hold on tight," Inuyasha let her climb his back, let her wrap her arms around his neck, got a good grip on her, and ran. Kagome gasped. Usually he tried to run at a comfortable pace for her, but today he could not. Inuyasha was very fast when he wanted to be.

He ignored Kagome's discomfort even if he didn't want to. Faster and faster. He forced himself to run. His stamina was good. It was easy until he felt the ground shake and his foot slip, but he stopped right in front of a huge gaping hole in the ground.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed at the jolt.

"Hold on!" he shouted.

The ground was breaking apart. Splitting open and the rocks falling into the ground. They fell, but he caught hold of a rock. The gap was growing and more rocks were crumbling. He deflected a rock from hitting Kagome. Inuyasha knew he had to jump fast before it was too late. He leaped away from the widening hole, but the ground was breaking like crumbs. He landed on a broken piece than leaped again. He landed on safe ground and continued running.

They had to get out of here. Damn! Whatever happened to sunset! This island was sinking now. The curse must be that the village is the last to fall. Great- A tree fell and Inuyasha slid with under it while Kagome screamed then it crashed behind them.

The ground was wet? He looked at the ground to see a small stream of water. Great. He had to make sure he didn't slip again.

Inuyasha gripped Kagome's legs so tight that he could feel her wince. He dodged another tree that crashed by leaping over it. He decided to try the branches instead since the ground was getting wetter. He jumped from falling branch to falling branch. Spinning and timing his jumps right until he ran out of trees.

At least it was quiet now. Inuyasha dropped down to catch a breath.

"Inuyasha, are you alright?"

He nodded then ran. The ground shook again, but at least it didn't break. Maybe they would get out of here. He pushed himself forward. Inuyasha was determined to protect Kagome.

Until he heard the water. He turned to see that little stream turned into more. The gigantic water wave was rushed towards them. Damn. It swept them up.

Wait? He didn't feel Kagome anymore.

Inuyasha heart pounded wildly, "Kagome!"

She was gone.

"Kagome!"

He couldn't smell her. She must be underwater. He dove into the water over and over again, fighting against the current. But he kept getting pushed further and further away. Where is she! He had to find her. He didn't see the cliff until it was too late. His lungs filled with water, but his eyes were full of blood and anger.


	13. Not a Hero

**Chapter 13: Not a Hero**

* * *

"Kagome! Where are you!" he screamed.

Inuyasha searched the water frantically but did not see her anywhere. He lost her. How could he lose her? She was just with him. Now she was gone, and he was sick, stressed, and pissed off.

Following the water, he nimbly jumped over all the broken, shattered rocks. Ignoring the rumblings of the ground. Didn't flinch over the smell of volcanic ashes that was making it hard to breathe. It did not matter. All that mattered to Inuyasha was finding Kagome.

"Kagome!"

Blindly running through the crumbling island, he sped through searching. In his mind, he could not see anything expect Kagome. Kagome that was hurt and asking for help.

It was all his fault.

Why didn't he see the water in time?

Inuyasha never felt this crushing fear before. "Damn it! Kagome! Where are you!"

Inuyasha was so angry with himself that he barely could hold back his demon blood. His anger was boiling over. His eyes kept filling with red. He held onto his self-control with a desperate determination.

"Kagome!"

She was not dead.

She was dead.

Kagome was not dead.

He always imagined the worst since the worst always happened to him. It made sense that the only friend he had ever had would die because of him. She was dead. He could not find her scent. It was as if she disappeared. She must have drowned. It was all his fault. He lost her. Inuyasha's hands were stained with blood from clenching his claws too hard.

She had trusted him to help her. What a joke! Inuyasha could barely help himself.

He had no business pretending to be her hero.

He should have told her no. Hell No- Walked away from her. Or at least pointed her to someone else.

If he had done that then she would be safe now. But he was selfish as usual. No, the truth crashed all around them. Inuyasha was not a hero. He was a pathetic half-demon. He could not protect Kagome.

He had no business as Kagome's guardian. Regardless of how much she trusted him. It was a joke. She was a stupid girl to ever put her trust in him.

The ground under him crumbled and he jumped just in time.

Just because she made him feel all these confusing things that he barely understand. She made him happy. He was having so much fun with her. He never felt so happy in his life. Never felt so content. Never did he feel so protective or possessive. Never did Inuyasha feel so powerless and out of control. Inuyasha never felt so emotions all at once. It made him want to push her away and pull her close.

He was wrong. If he were a good guy he would have told her no. If she died, it was his entire fault. All his selfish wish to be beside her. If only he was stronger.

Like a full demon like Sesshoumaru. This would never would have happened to that bastard. He would not even need to look for help. He had enough advisers and allies. He would know how to send Kagome to this home of hers.

Inuyasha had nothing since he was not a real demon. He was not even allowed to step foot in his father's castle. Out casted for being born. If he had been a full demon than he would not be alone.

After his mother's death, Inuyasha had looked for Sesshoumaru. He assumed that his only relative would take care of him. But Sesshoumaru refused. Not because Inuyasha did anything disrespectful, back then, Inuyasha was a hundred times more respectful, but becoming an orphan ruined all the good manners that his mother had spent years teaching him. Sesshoumaru had turned him away because he was not a full demon, so he was less powerful therefore pretty much useless in Sesshoumaru's eyes.

Inuyasha had not expected that. What kind of cold bastard throws away your kid brother? Even it was only half. But Sesshoumaru was a selfish guy. He probably assumed that Inuyasha would have died long ago.

Instead, Inuyasha was alive and getting stronger all the time. Once Sesshoumaru had asked him to go into battle against the Western Land enemies, but that day, Inuyasha laughed in his face. He laughed long and hard until Sesshoumaru walked away.

How dare he ask Inuyasha anything?

Just because Inuyasha was no longer that weak kid, Sesshoumaru wanted to play the family card. Family- yea right. Now Inuyasha is useful, so Sesshoumaru wanted to use him. He thought Inuyasha was still that innocent, nice kid that wanted his approval. He was shocked to see the rough, loud guy that Inuyasha grew up to be. He doubted Sesshoumaru would ever ask him for help again and that is how Inuyasha wanted it to be.

He would never help that selfish jerk. Even if he was getting killed, Inuyasha wouldn't lend a single claw to help. He would sit back and watch. It would be a great day.

He hated his life and hated Sesshoumaru. Lucky bastard that got everything. Just because he was born a full demon. It was not fair.

He couldn't help but think that Kagome should have asked Sesshoumaru for help instead of him. Sure he would never help Inuyasha, but he would help Kagome. She was the most powerful priestess Inuyasha ever seen. Sesshoumaru would help Kagome just to make her into an ally. Strategic bastard that is only nice to you if he thinks you might be useful to him. Inuyasha really hated Sesshoumaru more than anyone.

"Kagome! Where the hell are you!" Inuyasha shouted.

He prayed that she was safe that he got to her in time. Then he could get them off this sinking piece of rock.

Wait Kagome.

Please wait for me.

No matter what he would save Kagome. He would get to her and they would get out of here. He just had to hold it together. She needed him. What if Kagome was hurt?

A flock of birds flew past him. They must sense that the island was sinking. Animals were smarter than humans when it came to danger.

They were going to run out of time. He had to focus and look. But he could not focus with his demon blood barely under control. It should not make him feel so out of control that she was missing. They were only traveling together for a short time. Soon she will leave anyway. And he promised that he would protect her until then.

Damn.

When did he get so attached to a human? After his mother died, he swore to never do that again.

His beautiful mother had become old while he stayed a child. At the time he had not understood it. He did not understand aging. Why even the village children grew up and had children while he was still a child. Inuyasha would ask his mother, but she would simply smile and say that he was very lucky that he did not have to worry about getting old for a long time.

Of course, it made people treat him even more weird than they did before, but he was used to it. As long as he had his mother Inuyasha did not need anyone else. He was happy back then.

He would never forget that day when his mother's normally sweet scent had started to fill with death.

Inuyasha held his mother's wrinkled hand as he cried against her kimono. She told him that she loved him very much and to become strong like his father.

His mother said that his father had been told a prophecy from a seer that one-day, Inuyasha was going to save the world. That Inuyasha was a special child with a destiny. His mother said that to always walk with your head held high because you are marked by destiny to be great. Do not listen to anyone with closed hearts that cannot see your mark of destiny.

Those were her last words.

His heart had shattered when his mother took her last breath. It was the first time that his demon blood had took him over. It was why the villagers kicked him out. They declared him to be a monster. The only reason that they did not kill him was out of memory for his mother. But banishment was worse than death.

Banishment is long-term suffering but death is quick. Not that he knew that at the time. He did not fight the banishment because honestly the village was no longer home after his mother died. Inuyasha had remembered that his mother had said that he had a big brother. If he had a big brother than why did he want to stay here? He wanted to go to his big brother. It's not as if the villagers had ever welcomed Inuyasha only tolerated him.

The loss of control of Inuyasha's blood just gave them an excuse to finally get rid of him. He did not even get to sleep another night at the village. Inuyasha was orphaned and homeless in less than 24 hours.

He missed his mother and never wanted to lose anyone else that he cared about to death.

If Kagome was dead- Inuyasha's heart shook at the thought.

Kagome was important to him. Okay- way more than important. He trusted her even if she kept secrets from him.

He could not afford to waste seconds on doubts and worries. It would only make him lose control to his demon blood that was not something that he could afford.

Inuyasha had to only look at his goal, not all the things in the way.

Find Kagome.

She better be alive, or Inuyasha will find that witch and destroy her. Even if she was in the afterlife. He would hunt her down and destroy her.

Destroy her for stealing his priestess away.

His father was wrong. Inuyasha was not a hero. He couldn't even guard a priestess. He had no mark of destiny and would never do anything great. He was a monster not a hero.


	14. Deep Breaths

**14\. Deep Breaths**

* * *

"Where am I?" Kagome mumbled as consciousness returned to her.

Carefully, she touched her throbbing head then her wet shirt. Gross. Her soaked clothes were clinging to her so much that made her grateful that Miroku was nowhere near her. Why was she was sitting in two feet of cold water? She flicked her wrists in disgust. Standing up, Kagome wrung out her clothes as best as she could. It was too dark. What time is it? She looked up at the walls of dirt and stone. The sunlight peaked from the top. She must have fallen down here. No wonder she was so sore.

She pushed her wet black hair out of her face. Where was Inuyasha? She could not be alone. Maybe he was up top. Why didn't he get her out of here already?

"Inuyasha! Get me out of here!" she screamed flinching as her voice echoed.

Idiot! Her clothes and hair were a mess. She lost her book bag. What was taking him so long? She was going to get pneumonia at this rate.

"Inuyasha!" she screamed cupping her mouth to make her voice louder. Why didn't he hear her?

"Inuyasha! I'm down here!"

No response.

Her heart started pounding as her panic started rising.

A few minutes later of screaming, Kagome frowned. Where was Inuyasha?

Then she remembered the rush of water.

Oh- yea

But she could not remember anything else.

The water must have covered her scent. She was screwed. How was Inuyasha going to find her? Well- that is if he was going to bother to look. Inuyasha was not necessarily a do-gooder. Usually she had to force him to rescue people. He did not even want to help her when she met him, but Kaede had talked him into it.

Maybe she should stay put. Inuyasha should be looking for her.

What if Inuyasha did not look for her? What if he left her on this island? He would not leave her on this island. Hopefully?

Kagome felt so deflated. What was she going to do? Inuyasha always rescued her. No matter what. He would come for her. Inuyasha was the one person that she always counted on. He would never abandon her. Even if they were only friends, Inuyasha protected her. Since she had met her, he had never hesitated to jump in front of any danger, to slay any demon, or to rescue her from any kidnapper. Inuyasha always protected her.

Although sometimes it was annoying like when he insisted that he knew where she was at all times. Half the time that she went to school, she could swear that he was outside the school although he always denied it. He did not even let her bathe in peace. She had to have Sango with her or Inuyasha would not let her bathe. Then still he was never far away. Inuyasha and his overbearing protection.

But when she was about to get killed by a demon and Inuyasha would pull her away just in time then she would be so grateful for his overbearing protection. Glad that someone cared enough to save her.

She blushed and then almost slapped herself. Dred filled her. She needed to start looking at Inuyasha like a brother like a friend. Nothing more.

It was just hard holding back secrets from your best friend. How many times had Kagome almost confessed?

How many times had she daydreamed about the moment? She had made a million plans in her head on how to confess to Inuyasha.

She was going to tell him how beautiful his hair was, how cute his ears were, and how much she trusted him. How happy he made her. Inuyasha filled a part of her heart that she never knew that existed. Everything became brighter and more exciting whenever he was around. She always thought of him even when she was in class. She doodled his name all over her notebooks and wrote a diary full of poetry about him. Even if there were no shards, Kagome would have to come to see, Inuyasha because that feeling that he gave her was like an addiction to the sweetest chocolate. She did not care if they had to fight a million demons as long as she could fall asleep under his protection.

Of course, it was horrible to find out that the guy that you loved had an almost wife that wanted him back.

And Kagome never wanted to end up in that kind of soap opera situation. But she needed to see Inuyasha because he made her the happiest that she had ever been in her life.

Friend status was fine. It was preferable. If Kagome told the truth. She was not ready to be more than friends with Inuyasha.

If she was this attached to her friend than how much more attached would she become if they became more than friends? She could not handle it. She was only 15.

It was one thing to go out on a date with Hojo, he was safe. But Inuyasha was different, he was dangerous. Not because he was strong, but because of the feelings she had for him. If he ever really kissed her, she did not think she could stop. If he asked her to stay in the feudal era and not finish school, she would do it in a heartbeat.

For Inuyasha, Kagome would do anything and frankly, that scared her. Kagome was a good girl that never wanted to disappoint her mother's trust.

Even if there was no almost wife in Inuyasha's life, Kagome would still be too scared to admit her feelings. She was not ready to have a burning romance that would might burn her to the point of no recovery.

Kagome was a priestess, and a girl, so she had great intuition. A relationship with Inuyasha was nothing that she was ready for. Yet, she still thought about it in her daydreams. It was great that Inuyasha had never made a move to change their relationship. She was determined to hide her feelings for as long as she could.

That was why Kagome did not mind being Inuyasha's friend. Friendship was safe. It was intense enough to be his friends. Too hot and too cold that confused her enough as it was.

She had a duty to fulfill, and she would complete it no matter what. It was hard not to fall for the guy that rescued you not once but many times. It was perfectly normal to fall for a guy that rescues you. After all, getting rescued by a cute guy was more romantic that getting any roses. It was hard to pull back from kissing your hero.

It was then that she noticed that the water was rising. She had to get out of here. Inuyasha or no Inuyasha. She had to start climbing.

What should I do?

She could not climb up since it was too far, but she could not just sit in this water. She had to climb back up. It was the only way out of here.

Do not look down.

Kagome had climbed up halfway up the rocky hole that she was in. She was terrified and had ever imagined that she would be able to do this. Her hands and legs were scratched but she was almost there. You never know what you can do until you do it. But she couldn't help but wish that her friends were here. Sango or even Shippo. Oh- she missed her friends so much.

It was so much easier to do scary things that you would never do when you were with your friends.

Her pale dirty hands held the ledge so tightly as she carefully walked to the next place that looked climbable. Her heart was about to stop.

Kagome pulled herself up higher with shaking arms and swore that she would start weight lifting if she survived this. She wiped the sweat from her forehead as reached for the next rocky ledge.

Her nerves and senses were never more alert. If she made any mistake, she would fall to her death. Inuyasha would be mad.

I don't want to die.

She inhaled a deep breath to try to calm her unsteady nerves.

I can do this.

She pulled herself up to another bigger ledge. It was tempting to sit down. Inuyasha might come. But she couldn't take the risk. She had to do this on her own. She pressed herself against the wall and inch by inch stepped to the next ledge and reached up.

Cold water crashed into the opening and she screamed in shock.

Under her breath, Kagome prayed that she would get to the top. This island was sinking in a few hours. Kagome could not afford to wait and hope for a rescue. Sometimes a girl has to rescue herself.

Almost there.

Finally, she reached up for the top. Kagome wanted to cheer until she accidentally looked down. It was so far. Had she really came all that way? Kagome froze in fear. She could not move at all. What if she fell? Kagome would die here alone. She tried to scream out for Inuyasha but her throat was dry from climbing all this way.

Get a hold of yourself. It doesn't matter how far it is. You better not fall. Breathe and keep going.

She took a few deep breaths, and then pulled herself over the top, rolled onto her back, and giggled hysterically.

I did it.

* * *

_Just read the new manga chapters for 7 Seeds, Hana is so brave And Nanoka no Kara manga, what a cute love story._


	15. Inner Demon

**Chapter 15: Inner Demon**

_You'll protect me no matter what," Aly &amp; A.J., Protecting Me_

* * *

Suddenly, Kagome felt a demonic aura that was not the one that she was looking for. That was not Inuyasha.

It was coming at her very fast. There was more than one. Who could it be? She had no arrows. They had been lost somewhere. Hide. That was her next option. But where should she hide? She ran behind the bushes then she put a barrier around herself to hide her aura and smell.

Then she saw the horde of insect demons running. Disgusting. She hated bugs. Hopefully, they would not see her. They were so ugly. Giant insects were creepy. Besides Naraku was enough of a pest problem.

The insects killed another smaller insect demon. She watched in horror as they as they fought each other to eat the dead insect. Kagome shivered. How could they eat another insect? Why couldn't she run into nice friendly plant eating insects? She had the worst luck.

She had to keep up this barrier no matter how tired that she felt right now. Kagome never though she would have this much trouble getting home. She was in the wrong time with the wrong Inuyasha. It was all the witches fault for messing with well. Now they were on this sinking island and she had no idea how to fix the well. This witch on this island definitely would not help them since she was busy sinking this island again. It was a mistake to come here. She lost Inuyasha and by now, he must be hurt if he had not found her by now.

He was probably hurt somewhere. He would not have left her. She forgot that he had no Tessaiga and was younger than before.

One of the insects came too close and she screamed by mistake. She clapped her mouth, but it was too late.

They saw her.

Great.

She ran.

She wished Inuyasha were here.

* * *

Inuyasha was thrown hard, cutting into the trees by the blue haired demon. Inuyasha had scratches and bruises all over him. He needed to get past this demon to get to Kagome. Too much time had already passed.

Damn.

He moved his bruised body out of the way just in time to miss the demon's sword attack. Idiot was too fast.

"Idiot! Get out of my way! Don't you know that the island is sinking?" Inuyasha said while checking his hands for blood. How could anyone want to fight right now? Inuyasha just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

The demon smirked and bared his fangs slightly, "Yes, I know that we will die, but it is more fun to slaughter you first."

"You were trapped by the witch's curse?" Inuyasha grinned. "How weak are you to get trapped?" He assumed that it was only the humans not the demons.

The demon's red eyes gleamed, "We are all trapped here."

"What is up with you people? Always saying we like I'm included. I ain't trapped here or anywhere. I'm getting off this island today." Inuyasha declared.

"You are a fool. No one has ever left this cursed place. You sealed your fate the moment you stepped on this island. Did you not see the warning signs at the front?" the demon asked him.

Inuyasha scowled, "What kind of a sign was dead bodies? That wasn't a sign. At least write it out. Cursed island. Do not enter."

"You are a fool."

"I ain't the one that is stuck here."

The demon stepped forward, "You will not see this island's curse, because I will kill you first. Think of it as freeing you from this prison. I am truly kind aren't I? Think of it as a present."

The demon with his sword attacked Inuyasha in a flurry. He was so fast that Inuyasha could only dodge. He could get no opening at all. He wished that he had a sword. It would make this fight so much easier.

Finally, Inuyasha grabbed the demon's sword with his left hand and punch the demon with his right.

Inuyasha panicked. Kagome needed him. He had to go. Then the demon put his sword through Inuyasha's stomach. The pain was too much. He could not keep hold of his demonic energy.

Damn.

He hated losing his self-control. Once his demon blood took over then he never had any control. He would kill and never remember how it happened. He would only see the dead bodies. It was not easy for him to control it, but he usually did. But when he was badly injured it was next to impossible control himself. It was slipping away by the seconds because the pain overwhelmed him. It fought his consciousness and took control of him.

A familiar strength flooded him. His eyes turned red, claws sharpened, and demon markings covered his face.

He grinned evilly as he cracked his knuckles then he tore into the shocked demon.

After the demon lay dead. Inuyasha heard his name being called. He sniffed the air. It was his human girl.

Kagome screamed as one of the insect demons grabbed her leg.

Then it was gone.

Inuyasha ruthlessly ripped apart the insect demons. One by one he cut through all of them. Quickly and without mercy.

But his aura seemed off.

It was then that Kagome saw his red eyes and demonic markings.

Inuyasha killed the last of the insect demons.

She only knew one way to help him get back to himself. She had to kiss him. She blushed at the thought. It shouldn't embarrass her, but it did every time. Especially since it was always in front of other people. Who wants to kiss in front of your friends? It was so awkward.

Then before she could blink, he was at her neck inhaling her scent. His fangs grazing her neck. What was he doing?

She froze until he pulled back staring at her with his eyes blood red still.

She ignored the warmth spreading from her neck and the pounding of her heart.

She leaned in to kiss him until the red washed away from his eyes. He gripped her waist tightly. She bit back the tingly feeling. This was so much different when her friends were not here. She should stop, and it felt so sweet. It wasn't awkward at all. Her mind was foggy. His tongue danced with hers in a rhythm to the pounding of her heart. He pushed her against a tree. She had to stop this. Let go. He did not know what he is doing. Her lips touched him with her purifying powers.

She pulled back to look into his now confused amber eyes. Her heart beating so fast. Her cheeks stained pink.

"Kagome?" He dropped his hands from her waist with a blush. "How did I get here?"

She smiled softly. Kagome forced down her blush and tried to breath normally, "Never mind what took you so long? I almost died!" she stomped her foot.

The ground shook and Inuyasha swept up Kagome into his arms just before the ground under her feet disappeared.

She gulped, "Ah- thanks."

She watched his lips and couldn't help but wish his inner demon would come out again.


	16. Cave Hostages

**16\. Cave Hostages**

* * *

Inuyasha wasted no time getting them to the beach. He wanted them on their boat as soon as possible. The faster the better. This crap of an island was falling apart and Inuyasha wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Inuyasha! Stop!" Kagome shouted and pulled his long hair sending a jolt of pain to his scalp.

He came to a jolting stop, and purposely threw Kagome off of him, "Wench! Whatcha you do that for! I ain't no horse!"

What was wrong with this girl? Here he was trying to get them out of here and she wanted to play.

"Sit!" Kagome screamed as she rubbed her elbow.

Inuyasha's amber eyes flashed, "No! Stop telling me to sit like a dog!"

Kagome stood up, "That hurt! I just was just trying to warn you not to run into the barrier."

"Barrier? There ain't no barrier!" Inuyasha scoffed.

She pointed forward at the barrier and Inuyasha growled.

Oh- he didn't see it before, but he could see it now. This barrier was not there before. He weighed his options.

"It doesn't matter. I will break it!" Inuyasha launched at the barrier with his claws.

"Inuyasha! Stop! You might get hurt!"

Too late.

"Blades of blood!"

His claws hit the barrier and the sand underneath their feet turned into a sand trap. It swirled under them. Sucking them into it. Inuyasha couldn't get his legs out. The only thing he could do was grab Kagome tightly. It was too fast. They were going to get buried underneath.

The sand had quickly trapped them up to their neck.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed.

"Kagome breath!"

They both took a deep breath as they were sucked into the sand.

Into the quicksand, they were pulled in.

Inuyasha held Kagome tightly. They fell through the sand and dumped onto the hard stone ground.

"Kagome? Are you okay?"

She didn't answer. He shook her but got no response. She wasn't breathing.

"Kagome!"

She didn't move. He shook her. Tears in his eyes as he clutched her limp body to him. Inuyasha's heart shattered. He couldn't breath. He couldn't think. He didn't know what to do.

Breath. Kagome, Please. He silently begged her.

Wake up.

Kagome, please wake up.

Inuyasha begged her.

She had to wake up. She just had to get up. Inuyasha couldn't think that of her not opening her eyes,

Then her eyes opened. She coughed up sand. Relief flooded into Inuyasha.

"What happened?" she asked when she could talk.

Inuyasha looked away refusing to meet her eyes for a moment trying to not think of his reactions, instead trying to focus on anything else.

"Inuyasha! It's too dark in here!" Kagome whispered.

It was a underground cave. It was too dark for human eyes. There were bars closing the entrance. Was this an underground prison

"Don't worry. I can see." He grabbed her hand.

What was this place?

The barrier must have been a trap that triggered the sand to open.

Inuyasha would be happy to show whoever played this trick why they should never play with

him.

Kagome was terrified. It was pitch black. She couldn't even see her hands. All she could feel was Inuyasha holding her and that was it.

If there was anything that Inuyasha hated it was being inside. Being trapped inside of a moldy cave was pissing him off.

"Is someone in here?" A young man asked hesitantly.

"What are you doing in here?" Inuyasha asked. Slightly amused that the man couldn't see him in the dark.

"I tried to escape the island and next thing I know I was here." He said.

"I'm Kagome. What is your name?" she asked.

Inuyasha yanked her arm, "Are you an idiot? Don't talk to him."

"Why not? What if he is hurt?" she argued.

"Who cares? He could be the reason that we are trapped here." Inuyasha snapped.

The man bowed in the dark to Inuyasha's surprise. "I am Shin, only a simple villager. I was trying to escape the witch's curse. I want my freedom."

"How long were you here?" Kagome asked.

He sighed, "The question should be how long was I trying to escape. I have tried many times and

I have never succeeded."

Inuyasha chuckled low, "Enough with the talking."

He grabbed the bars and pulled them apart. They squealed as they bent. This prison meant for humans could not hold him. He picked up Kagome and carried her out of the cell. No guards at all. Only more cells and no guards. There was no reason since as dark as it was no human could escape by themselves from here.

"This place can't hold someone like me." Inuyasha said smugly as the Shin struggled to follow them until Inuyasha reached over to grab him before he fell over.

Kagome patted her skirt when he set her down, "Inuyasha do you think we will get to the beach in time?"

"Even if you get to the beach you will only find yourself back here. Just like me." Shin said.

Kagome squeezed Inuyasha's hand, "Well, I guess we have to find this witch after all."

"No point," Shin said. "I am going to give up. I tried so many times to escape this place and every time I end up back in here. I was foolish. At least if I stayed in the village I would have stayed with my family and died with them. Instead I will die alone again in this place. There is no escaping this place. I will wait here and pray until the end comes. I do not want to die without at least saying my final prayers. I would advise you too to stay here and do the same."

Inuyasha didn't speak. He was not about to insult the man that looked like he was at his breaking point. But he didn't know what to say so he decided to keep quiet.

"Shin, we are not from here. Besides we have lots of experience with these kinds of things. Let us handle the witch. We will come back for you." Kagome said warmly.

"You are wasting your time. You will not escape from here. Many have tried to escape and no one succeeded. I have tried today and I failed again. It is better to accept that death comes to everyone here. But we will be reborn tomorrow."

Shin said. "Just give up to your fate."

"My fate?" Kagome glared at him, "My time to be reborn is not going to happen anytime soon. I can't die here and even if I don't know if I know 100% that Inuyasha will not die here. He has lots of more important things to do than die on this forsaken island. This is not our fate."

"Well if you die on your own before the sunsets then you will not be reborn. Only those that die by the spell are reborn by the spell." Shin warning.

"We are leaving. Let's go Inuyasha."

Inuyasha's jaw was hanging open.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome snapped. "Let's go!"

Inuyasha sighed. They couldn't leave, yet.

Then Kagome screamed when she heard the bars screech. Inuyasha was pulling more metal bars.

"Thank you!" someone said in the dark.

There were many people trapped down here. Inuyasha freed all of them.

But they all refused to leave. Each one had failed to escape and each one wanted to wait until the spell finished. Just because they failed they didn't want to try again. Inuyasha shook his head. He would never understand why some people give up at the first failure. He failed plenty of times but that never stopped him from trying again.

It was time to find the witch.

They had left. She just held onto Inuyasha's hand and tried not to stumble too much. The few times that she tripped Inuyasha caught her. Kagome hated how quiet it was. If Inuyasha wasn't here she would scream at every little noise. She had no idea where they were going, but she trusted Inuyasha to get them here.

Suddenly, she felt an energy that was wrong and wicked.


	17. Changing the Past

**17: Changing the Past**

_"It's taken a lifetime to lose my way," by 10 Years, Fix Me._

* * *

The witch is just a girl. Just a girl as young as Kagome. This girl who could have been in her class. She looked as if they could have been friends. She didn't look a witch that would curse an entire island. Especially, not to see all this power coming from a sobbing girl.

"Are you okay?" Kagome asked because she was always ready to help the innocent no matter how much she shouldn't.

Inuyasha looked her as if she lost her mind but she glared at him daring him to speak. Kagome was not ready to condemn this young girl. There had to a reason that she was doing this. Maybe Kagome could convince her to stop.

The girl continued to sob as if her heart was shattered into pieces.

"My name is Kagome."

"Sakura," the girl said between sobs.

Then the girl cried more and her energy slapped Inuyasha hard. The girl had to calm down. Kagome stepped forward to try to help her.

"Kagome get back," Inuyasha prepared to attack.

She shook her head. She could not let him kill this girl. She could see in his eyes had iced over like Sesshoumaru. Cold and unforgiving. He would do it. It was not right. Inuyasha will not forgive himself if he killed this girl.

Kagome stepped forward then the scenery changed. It looked like the village but it was not.

The only people here was Kagome, Sakura, and a young man. Sakura was begging him but he did not respond. Kagome could tell that he was only something she had conjured in this dream world. No one was really here except for her and Sakura.

"Sakura, this is not real." Kagome said gently.

The witch turned from the image of the man, "I know that he is not real. I just wish that where ever is that he knows how much I loved him," she said. "I wish it so much that I get a second chance. I want to tell him that I am sorry. I want to say that I love you. I want a chance to start over, but I can't get one."

Kagome stared at her in shock. Is this why she was keeping the island under this spell? She wanted to start over. "The villagers think that you are punishing them."

"I'm not punishing the villagers." Sakura said.

Did she not know what she was doing? Was it possible? Was Sakura only trying to turn back time to talk to her love and not knowing that she was hurting the villagers? Kagome could not believe it. There was no way that she did not know.

Kagome was not sure how to phrase it, "Sakura, I understand that you want to see your love and get a second chance, but you are hurting the whole island".

"I don't understand," the witch said.

She pinched her forehead, "Sakura, I, of all people understand fixing the past and regretting not saying what you should to the man that you love. But you should not hurt other people just because of your mistakes. Your spell to turn back time is only destroying the village and keeping their souls from passing on. It isn't right. You need to let it go. I cannot believe I'm saying this, but you can't always change the past. Sometimes it is just destiny and you can't change it..."

"What is the point of power if you can't change the past?" Sakura asked.

"Power can't fix everything."

Sakura sniffed, "I need to fix this. I miss him so much. You don't know how much it hurts to love someone that you can't have."

Kagome's heart squeezed. "Sakura, you have to stop this. You can't change fate no matter how much power you have."

"I will if you help me. You have lots of power. Alone I do not have enough, but if you help me than I will have enough power. Priestess, you have to help me. Help me." Sakura begged.

"Sakura, I can't help you kill people so that you can change the past." Kagome said.

Sakura's eyes filled with new tears, "I bring them back to life. I did not mean to kill them. I just cannot get back to the last moment I talked to him. I get so close every time than I need to start over. But I fix it. I bring them back to life. I just want to see him, but I am always too late. I am so close. Just give me more time."

Kagome could not help her even if she felt bad for the girl. It was not right to help her. But then again was not she in the feudal era just to fix her mistakes. Was it wrong to come into the past when she was not even from here? Isn't that what Kikiyo always told her? Her trips to the past had messed up the past. She broke the jewel and caused many people to suffer including her friends. If she never came to the past Sango and Kohaku would still have their family. Naraku would not be as strong at all since the jewel would be in the future. He would be hiding like he had since Kikiyo's death fifty years ago. Kouga's tribe would never have been attacked by Kagura. Kikiyo would have been at peace instead of wandering the Earth.

She could keep the last shards, go to the future, and seal the well. Naraku would never get them.

But- Kagome felt as if it was her responsibility to fix what she did. She could not walk away. It was different. Right?

She was not like Sakura.

"No, Sakura." Kagome said. "I'm sorry. I cannot help you change the past at the expense of all these people. Your spell is wrong."

Suddenly, Sakura smirked evilly, and Kagome felt a blast of energy tear through her. She was thrown back a few dozen feet and hit the ground hard.

"You don't have any idea how I feel," Sakura said. "I will get your help whether or not you give it."

Inuyasha couldn't believe that he had hesitated. Clearly, Kagome was delusional. She was trying to reason with the enemy. Didn't she remember what the old man and villagers said that this girl did? Kagome should have moved out of his way, so he could fight, so they could leave.

What was wrong with her? Why was she so naive? Not everyone had good in them. Some people were all bad deep down inside without a drop of good. Take for example his half-brother. Sesshoumaru was all jerk deep down to his expensive boots. This witch was one of the all bad people that the world could do without. The world would be much better if all the bad people were gone. Whoever thought the world needed good and evil to have balance was probably naive like Kagome. If it was up to Inuyasha, he would throw all the bad people off the world. Kagome clearly believed in the idea that bad people just needed help.

How could Kagome survive all these years with that mentality?

You couldn't help everyone. You probably shouldn't even bother with most people. Kagome was one of the few that needed saving because she was good and pure. Anyone could see it shining like a light. Goodness should always be protected. Her innocence should never be tainted.

When they were safe and far from her, he would yell at her but now, he had to save her.

Inuyasha had been trying to break the barrier that Kagome was in. He could see them but he could not get inside. He tried so hard but could not reach her. Then he saw her fall to the ground in agony. He could see her energy being devoured by the witch. She needed him. He was going to break this woman's barrier one way or another.

He had to reach Kagome. He couldn't fight or think unless he knew that she was okay.

He did not know what was going on. Kagome had fainted. The witch was taking her powers. Kagome was aging before his eyes. If he did not stop it then Kagome would become too old and die. Inuyasha was pissed.

With a strength, that Inuyasha should not have without Tetsaiga, but it had come from pure will. The desire to risk his life for this girl.

The sword within him came forth. The power came from inside of him and through his claws.

He broke it because nothing was allowed to come between him and this priestess. He would never allow it.

Snatching Kagome into his arms, he felt relief flood through him as her age returned to normal. She was unconscious but alive. Inuyasha hugged her close one time before setting her down out of the way of the battle.

His rage returned when he saw the witch watching them.

Inuyasha did not hesitate as he attacked the witch.

He was so angry with himself for hesitating. He should never hesitate when it came to Kagome. No one deserved any mercy for hurting Kagome. It did not matter who it was or how much they cried. How innocent they looked.

Inuyasha would destroy them.

No one was allowed to hurt Kagome.

Then the witch lost her mask of a young girl. She was really an old woman that became deformed from black magic. She looked more of a monster than Inuyasha ever was. Pure evil emitted from her aura.

"Are you protecting her?" the witch asked with venom dripping from her voice. "I understand. No, wonder why she won't help me. She has her love. I will destroy what she loves, so that the little priestess will have a reason to help me. Only when I destroy you will she understand how I feel."


	18. The Mistake

**Chapter 18: The Mistake**

_"I've been cursed," Three Days Grace, Chalk Outline_

* * *

Before Inuyasha could blink, he was thrust backwards by a blast from the witch. His body sliding against the rocky floor then his back hit the wall.

The witch lifted him up with her power laced around his waist then threw him hard against the ground.

Inuyasha groaned as he stood, "You'll pay for that."

He rushed forward to attack her but he was thrown to the ground. The ground cracked under him. He stood and scratched his skin to draw blood, "Blades of Blood." He said before leaping forward to attack her.

She easily dodged him, "You are a fun toy. I am always did like demons. You are all such a fun challenge for me."

The witch flicked a dagger hitting Inuyasha's stomach, "Lots of fun."

He tried to stand, but his hands and feet were shackled to the wall. Inuyasha struggled to free himself.

"What the!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

The witch smirked, "What a treat. I never thought that I would get an opportunity to get all the things that I want."

"Why do you love a half-demon? He is not even human. He is a monster. What kind of sick priestess are you? You are supposed to purify him." The witch said.

Kagome narrowed her eyes, "Inuyasha is not a monster. He is my friend. The only monster in here is you."

"Have you lost your humanity? Has he tricked you? I should leave him to kill you. Look at those claws and fangs. They will rip your heart out." The witch said.

Inuyasha would never hurt me."

"Demons and humans are enemies."

"According to who? You? What makes you the expert?"

The witch laughed, "Priestess, you are too young to understand life. One day you will understand why you need to stick to your own kind."

She picked up Kagome with her power. Kagome struggled against her.

"Priestess, watch as the one you love dies."

The witch started absorbing Inuyasha's strength. His screams echoed in Kagome's ears.

"Inuyasha!"

The witch laughed, "Are you going to agree to help me or are you going to let him die?"

Kagome was horrified. Inuyasha couldn't die. Not like this. Not here. He was trapped. If Sango was here than she would distract the witch so that Inuyasha had time to escape. Miroku would know how to attack her.

But now it was only her and Inuyasha.

Kagome didn't know what to do, but she knew that she would die if Inuyasha died. She would go crazy, and try to fix time until she could prevent it. She wouldn't rest and break every law of magic to bring Inuyasha back. Inuyasha was not going to die in front of her while she watched. Kagome was not a weak human. She was the Shikon priestess. She could take on any witch.

Kagome's powers glowed all around her as she took hold of the witch's powers and purified it. Her hair flowed behind and there was no flinching.

When the witch was gone, Kagome tried to reign in her out of control powers. The grabbed Inuyasha and his powers flowed to meet her challenge.

Like a sunset, the powers of Inuyasha and Kagome glowed around them, danced, and lite the cave bright.

Inuyasha fell from wall unchained.

Finally, the powers pulled back.

The witch became old. "Help me. I have no powers. I am too weak to stand," she begged.

Kagome stepped forward and didn't see the dagger in the woman's hand. Quickly, Inuyasha took the dagger and plunged it into the woman's heart.

Inuyasha didn't speak for a moment. Finally, he turned to her.

"What did you do?" he asked angrily.

She stopped moving, "Nothing."

He held his head, "Dammit! I don't understand how that happened. We didn't do anything."

"Did what?" Kagome asked feeling lost.

"You don't feel that?" he demanded.

"Feel what?"

He pointed at the newly beautiful moon design on her hand.

Kagome turned her hand around, "It's pretty. But I am not sure when I got this."

Inuyasha scowled, "It is a mating mark."

She stepped back in horror, "It can't be. We didn't do anything."

He raised his eyebrows, "What was that lights a minute ago? You did something with your powers. You aren't supposed to be able to do that. How did you?"

Kagome gasped, "I'm sorry. It's all my fault."

"Yes, it is."

"I didn't mean it."

"It doesn't matter. You did it."

"I didn't mean it. It was an accident." Kagome whispered. "I'm sorry Inuyasha."

Kagome broke down into tears. Inuyasha looked away. She had ruined the past. Mating marks were for life. This was not supposed to happen. She had changed the past.

The ground started shaking.

Inuyasha grabbed her roughly, "Let's get out of here before it is too late."

He ran through the tunnels with Kagome tightly in his arms. Inuyasha protected Kagome from getting crushed by the falling rocks. Kagome refused to look because whenever she opened her eyes the rocks kept falling all around them. Finally, Inuyasha found an opening in the ceiling that he leaped through.

The island was not sinking. It was restored as if there had never been a spell. But the witches home had sunken.

They walked to the boat but didn't talk. Kagome cried the whole way but Inuyasha didn't comfort her. He didn't carry her. He walked in front of her in silence.

Kagome felt terrible. She always thought that she would be happy to become Inuyasha's mate. Instead she felt terrible. It was not supposed to be like this. It was a mistake. A huge mistake. It never should have happened. How was she going to the future and face Inuyasha? He would hate her. She doubted she could make him forget a mating. You can't forget a mating. He would never forgive her when she leaves.

Things would never be the same.

She cried and cried. Suddenly, Inuyasha swept her up in a hug.

"Kagome," he whispered in her ear. "I know that no one wants to be mated to a half-demon. I am not mad at you. You deserve much better than what I could give you. I won't make you do anything that you don't want to do. Just please stop crying. I can't stand it."

"It's not like that Inuyasha," she whispered.

He stepped away, "Don't Kagome. I get it. You don't have to lie. Mating is more than a mark. We don't have to complete it. I'm not an animal. It was an accident. It will go away on its own. Then you can go away."

She tried to touch his shoulder.

"Don't touch me," he growled.

They sat in the boat. It was dark. The moon shined brightly above them.

The island didn't sink today. It stood because the spell was broken. The people survived. Kagome hoped that they could move on with their lives. They did not deserve the curse that the witch had given them.

Usually Kagome liked helping others but she wished she never came to this island. If the incomplete mating mark will go away then it was better for Kagome to leave Inuyasha before anything else happened.

It was a mistake to rely on this Inuyasha. They were not supposed to meet, yet.

She would suppress his memories and run away. It was better this way. She should never have stayed with Inuyasha this long. She was relieved to learn that the mating mark would go away on its own.

Tomorrow when they reached the mainland, Kagome would leave Inuyasha.


	19. The Mark

**Chapter 19: The Mark**

_"This isn't happening to me," Three Days Grace, Last to Know_

* * *

Inuyasha was mad, hurt, and guilty at the same time. He had an accidental mate that didn't want him. Kagome was so upset and it was stressing him out since he could feel everything that she felt. He tried his best to pretend that it wasn't bothering him but her emotions were coming out in waves through their mating bond.

All of it was pissing him off and Inuyasha was never the best at controlling his is not that he didn't try to control his temper. He tried every day. If he didn't try then he would lose control of his demon blood. Losing his temper was an everyday struggle. One day he wanted an easy life with nothing that made him angry but for now there was always another battle, another problem. It was always something.

But Inuyasha was always ready to fight against the world that he didn't fit into because fighting was all he ever did. He always remembered that his mother had told him to always be strong no matter what that life was never easy for anyone no matter how it looked to outside eyes. Everyone had problems. But of course Inuyasha felt that his problems were more than necessary but he was also stronger than others. He would get through any struggle.

Yet, it did hurt.

Having a girl that made you feel that maybe that there was a place for you in the world.

That maybe he didn't have to fight alone anymore

Kagome's rejection hurt him more than ever he thought possible.

It was all his fault.

He never should have trusted her.

She was just like everyone else.

No one would ever want a monster like him.

It hurt.

The bond between them just made it worse. he could feel how upset that she was.

Whatever he had thought Kagome felt for him was clearly all wrong. He must be s stupid to think that she actually liked or even loved him. She was just being polite. She did need help. But then again he remembered that she had tried in the beginning to keep distance between them.

He was the idiot that decided to protect her on a quest that she couldn't even explain to him.

He was an idiot.

But he could lie too. He lied when he said that the mating mark would fade. Actually he had no idea. He did know that it was an incomplete mark and he ha no intention of completing the mark. The question was how to get rid of it.

Where was Myouga when you needed it?

Hopefully, it will just go away since it is incomplete. Maybe.

Just the she looked at him with such a soft smile. She was so beautiful. He thought before he could help it.

Inuyasha glared at her and her feelings of guilt hit him hard.

Just then she looked at him with such a soft smile. She was so beautiful. He thought before he could help it.

He was such an idiot. He glared at her and her feelings of guilt hit him hard.

Damn.

Bonds like this should never be made by mistake. They should be made when both people love each other and actually want to be together. Not by mistake.

This was the most awkward boat ride ever. Inuyasha was never more glad to be on land.

"Kagome, I will be back with firewood and meat"

He ran. Keeping all this inside was hard. He needed to take it out on something. He cut through a few trees then hunted down a boar. It felt good to get out of there even if he could still feel her from here.

At least he knew she was not in danger.

When Inuyasha came back, Kagome was sitting on the sand.

"Hi," she whispered.

He nodded and started to get the meat ready. Ignoring the tension between them.

Usually he never wanted to apologize or talk about feelings, but...

"Kagome, I'm sorry"

Her eyes widened in shock, "For what?"

So she wasn't just going to take his apology. She was going to make him explain. Inuyasha sighed. "For everything. Don't worry about the mark anymore. Its nothing. " he said.

Unfortunately her mood get worse. The apology didn't work. Well now what was he supposed to say. Why were females so complicated?

"Inuyasha," Kagome shuffled her feet. "You have nothing to be sorry for. It is all my fault. You did nothing wrong."

Inuyasha bowed his head," But-"

"But nothing. I did this and I will fix this," Kagome said firmly, "I know that you don't see me like that. I know we are just friends. I cant- I - will fix it. Me and you were never meant to be." Kagome said weeping.

That broke his heart. Why couldn't she understand what she was doing to him?

"Kagome. Don't say that. " he hugged her to his chest.

"No, we are not. I know the future." she mumbled in his chest,"You will understand one day."

"Stop crying Kagome. No one knows the future" Inuyasha insisted. She wasn't making any sense, but he wanted her to stop crying.

"I do. I'm sorry." Kagome sobbed.

"Stop apologizing."

"But I messed up everything."

"Stop."

He turned his head so she wouldn't see his tears then wiped them quickly with his sleeve. "No, I made food. If you keep going on and on. It will burn"

He could tell that she didn't believe him but she had been so shocked that she stopped crying.

"Let's eat something." Kagome said.

They ate and went to sleep. Kagome seemed to have calmed down and Inuyasha was relieved.

Maybe all of it will work out.

He didn't mean to fall asleep, but he was so tired. Inuyasha fell asleep into a deep sleep.

In the morning Inuyasha woke up. He felt awful. His head was hurting.

Where am I?

How did I get here?

Inuyasha couldn't remember how he got here. In fact he couldn't remember what happened yesterday or even the day before.

He was so confused. Why did he feel so bad? He touched his face. He was crying. Why was he crying?

There was a smell of a human female but ... what was wrong with him.

It took awhile before Inuyasha stopped crying. It made no sense. But he felt this huge sense of emptiness and loss. Like his entire world ended today.

By then Kagome had been long gone. It had been hard to suppress Inuyasha's memories. Miroku neglected to tell her how much energy that it takes out of you to such a spell. She was exhausted, but she needed to put as much distance between herself and Inuyasha.

Kagome felt guilty but she knew that she knew that she did the right thing. She didn't want to change the past. She couldn't be Inuyasha's mate. It was changing the past. Besides even in the future Inuyasha would not want her. She wasn't going to fool herself.

Inuyasha didn't love her past or future.

When she got home she was going to get a new boyfriend.

But she admitted it had been too nice to spend time with Inuyasha in the past. It had been so nice. Just the two of them. If she could stay with him, she would stay, but it wasn't meant to be.

She prayed that the mating mark would disappear any second. She just needed to get far away.

If she had been paying attention then she would have felt the demonic aura, but she was too depressed to pay attention to anything besides her broken heart.

She didn't feel the demonic presence until it was too late.

Kagome gasped as she she saw a very angry Sesshoumaru in front of her.

"Priestess, tell me why you have the mark of this one's lineage." he asked her in his baritone voice.

What? Why was he mad? "Sesshoumaru, I am not in the mood."

His eyes narrowed, "How do you know this one's name?"

She winced, "Everyone know Lord Sesshoumaru."

"You lie. I can smell your deceit" He declared, "Priestess, tell me how you have acquired this false mark."

Kagome got mad but tried to not lose her temper, "It is not false. It is from Inuyasha."

Why did she every wish to run into Sesshoumaru? He was the worst. Clearly, he was going to be no help. She needed to get away from him. But he was too fast, so running would not work. She had to stand her ground. Geez- he was scary when he was mad. Kagome couldn't purify him even if she wanted to. She had to get him to listen to reason before he killed her.

"Priestess, do not think to deceive me. You are untouched, yet you bear a mark of the one that is claimed. The half breed should not be capable of putting on such a mark. It must be false." Sesshoumaru claws dripped with poison.

Kagome stepped back in fear, "It is not what you think. Lord Sesshoumaru it was an accident, but it is not false. It is from Inuyasha. What happen was-"

"If it was from the half-breed you would not be traveling alone." He interrupted her. "Priestess, you bear a false mark of this one's lineage in order to get protection while you travel. I will not allow anyone, especially, a human to taint my family name by claiming it. Your false charade ends today," Sesshoumaru declared his judgement.

"No, it is not. Listen. Lord Sesshoumaru. Give me a chance to explain," Kagome begged as she backed away.

He flung his poison at her, "Die, Priestess."


	20. Purify

**Chapter 20:Purify**

_"I could be mean." Three Days Grace, Just Like You_

The green poison hit her so fast that she couldn't even scream in her last moment.

Kagome braced herself for the painful death. Of all the people in the world, she really never thought that Sesshoumaru would kill her. She thought that person that would kill her would be Kikiyo or Naraku. Never Sesshoumaru. It wasn't that he wasn't dangerous. She just wasn't scared of him anymore.

Sesshoumaru was not the villain that she had thought when they first met.

But here she was getting killed by the demon lord.

Inuyasha was going to be so mad when she never came back to the future.

Nothing happened.

It didn't work.

Sesshoumaru looked upset.

Kagome didn't know to be offended when Sesshoumaru's poison oozed all over her outfit or to be relieved that she was still alive. It shouldn't be possible that she was alive.

Sesshoumaru's poison was lethal. Yet, the last time that he had tried to kill her with poison, she had survived. Apparently, his poison was all show and no substance. Well- this was the second time that she had lived to tell the tale.

She almost laughed until she realized how gross it was. It was actually oozing like a bad science experiment.

Horrible.

"Why do you always do that? It is so gross" She complained as she brushed off the poison.

Before she could blink Sesshoumaru had her against the tree with his claws wrapped against her throat.

Kagome couldn't believe it. He was actually still trying to kill her. She could feel his demon aura trying to subdue hers. His claws drawing blood on her neck.

His eyes flashed from gold to red.

If she didn't know him then she would purify him so fast. Yet, she couldn't bring up her powers to do that.

It was Sesshoumaru. She couldn't purify Sesshoumaru. The idea made her want to cry. Kagome couldn't kill him. It was Inuyasha's brother even if Inuyasha hated him. It was Rin's guardian. Besides Kagome had to back down or she could never live with herself. Maybe Sesshoumaru could kill her without a second thought, but she couldn't do it.

She had to back down.

She raised her hand so he could examine the mark.

If Sesshoumaru ever looked shocked it was right now. "Priestess, your mark is true."

He released her.

Kagome dropped to the floor and rubbed her throat, "I told you."

What does it take to get him to listen? He was worse than Inuyasha at jumping to conclusions. Stupid dog demons.

He did not look amused, "Only our family and our mates are immune to these poisons. Where is your mate? The half breed is more shameful than I thought to allow his mate to wander. "

Really? No wonder it didn't work. She wasn't even wearing Inuyasha's fire rat robe. How awesome is that? Wait. What did Sesshoumaru say about Inuyasha? Inuyasha would never let her leave his sight if he could. Sesshoumaru was wrong about that.

Inuyasha. The guilt was still eating away at her for sneaking away. Hopefully, Inuyasha would never find out about what she did. He would be so angry. Kagome would never let him find out. Inuyasha will go on with his life the way that he was meant to be.

"Not exactly," she said then hung her head. "I ran away from him."

She was the worst. It was cowardly. Kagome had waited till he was relaxed than she had done the spell just like Miroku had told her.

He would not remember her. He would not remember how he almost loved her.

He wouldn't remember all moments that they shared. All of it was gone. That knowledge would be what Kagome had to live with. It was awful. She wouldn't forget any of it. The memories put butterflies in her heart.

Had it only been two weeks since she had been home?

Sesshoumaru slightly smirked, "I understand."

"What?" she stared in confusion.

He walked away. Kagome couldn't believe it. Understand what?

Quickly she followed him.

"Sesshoumaru don't ignore me."

He ignored her.

"Lord Sesshoumaru please you have to help me."

At that he stopped walking and turned to look at her. "It is not honorable for me to protect you from you chosen even if he is a despicable half breed."

Kagome's jaw dropped. "I don't need protection from Inuyasha."

"Then why did you run away from your mate? Did he not lose control of his demon blood and try to slay you?"

"No, he didn't,"she said. "I left for another reason."

Sesshoumaru looked down at her as if he didn't believe her, "It is of no importance. It is the half breed. There is many reasons, I'm sure for you not to complete the mating mark."

"Inuyasha would never hurt me." She protested.

"Hn"

Kagome looked him right in the eye unflinching, "Lord Sesshoumaru, I understand that you don't know me. But I know that you are a honorable and reasonable demon. I know that you are busy and have many things to do. But please hear me out."

"Human, do not waste anymore of my time."

Kagome had tears in her eyes, "Sesshoumaru, you are the only one that I can ask. You have to help me go home."

"Ask your mate."

"I can't. You are the only one that I can ask. Besides we are practically family so you should at least hear me out."

Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrows, then sat down leaning against a tree, "Priestess, since you are under the protection of the house of the moon, I will listen to your pleas. But I warn you if you try to deceive me, I will leave you to your fate."

Kagome gulped at the veiled threat.

She couldn't tell him the truth. But he could tell if she lied. What was she supposed to do? But even if she did it wasnt as if she could change Lord Sesshoumarus destiny. It was Lord Sesshoumaru. No one could change him.

She never thought she would have to grovel in front of Lord Sesshoumaru. Was it worth it? Could she do it without help? There was no one else. She did enough damage in the past. The faster she left the better. She should have come to him in the first place. He was the only one that might help her.

She wished that she could ask Kouga but he would only kidnap or try to eat her.

If she had to tell him the truth in order to get help...it was a fair deal. Besides she was only human, Sesshoumaru wouldn't even remember her.

Kagome started from the beginning. She told him how she fell down the well and met Inuyasha. How she had become trapped in the wrong time and afraid of changing Inuyasha's destiny. Of course she left out any part that involved Sesshomaru. Sesshoumaru didn't move or even acknowledge that he believed her. He watched her carefully as if he was making all kinds of judgement on her. Kagome felt as if she was in the principal's office

"So then I ran away." Kagome finished.

It hadn't been hard to tell him. Sesshoumaru didn't yell or interrupt her. Inuyasha would have interrupted her many times by now. Sesshoumaru would have had a good career as a therapist. He was surprisingly easy to talk to.

Sesshoumaru stared at the self-proclaimed time traveling priestess.

He didn't smell deceit. He should have, but she was not lying. Either she was crazy or she was telling the truth. It was an amazing story if it was true. What a strange creature. Lost in time and alone. No wonder Inuyasha protected her. He wondered about all the things that she knew about the future. She was a treasure.

He was not going to let anyone else take advantage of her knowledge. Knowledge was power after all.

This time she could not seek out Inuyasha's help, so she had to seek out him. It was in her best interest to seek out Sesshoumaru out since she didn't know his future. Therefore, there was no change to make. Although he wondered about her judgement. Even in the future Inuyasha could not be stronger than he is right now. Why the priestess would choose to rely on him now but not later in the future? She was a foolish human.

He would help her now, but she would owe him a debt in the future. Sesshoumaru had a perfect memory. He would not forget her as she assumes that he would. He would pretend that he didn't know her until she remembered today.

Sesshoumaru decided to get her back home. It was not everyday that one met someone from the future.

He stood up, "You will go home and stop causing so much trouble."

"You are going to help me!" Kagome clapped her hands.

He didn't comment. He started walking and she followed behind.

"I was so worried that you would say no or that I might change your future."

Without turning around, "Do not think so highly of yourself. A mere human could never have an effect on my future."

Suddenly, he stood and called forth his entire aura and Kagome felt like she was choking.

This was not going the way that she planned. Why did he always have to attack first and ask questions later? What did she do now?

Then she realized that he was not looking at her, but behind her.

They were surrounded by a group of demon slayers and a priestess.

One of the demon slayers had a big smile, "Look what we have here. The lord of the dogs. What a prize! I would love to make a weapon out of your bones."

Kagome almost choked, "Are you crazy? You do know that this is Lord Sesshoumaru? You should run away before he gets bored."

The demon slayer turned to her, "My name is Tanaka. Shame that you are here too. Take them both. Lord Usui wants the dog as a pet."

Kagome crossed her arms, "Tell this Lord Usui that if he wants to get killed by Lord Sesshoumaru to come in person. Now get out of the way."

Tanaka frowned, "Even if you are dressed strange I didn't think you are a loose woman. But the way you are familiar with this demon makes me think otherwise."

Kagome turned red with anger, "You close minded, backwards, barbarian!"

Sesshoumaru stepped forward, "Humans you will desist this foolishness before you lose your life."

Tanaka leaped to attack but Sesshoumaru sliced through him. No human could ever come close to his speed. He probably didn't even see the moment that the demon lord took his life. Kagome almost felt sorry for him.

Then the priestess cast a spell to purify Sesshoumaru. Kagome threw up a barrier. The spell was deflected.

The demon slayers attacked but as fast as they were no one was fast than Sesshoumaru. Quickly, he killed five of the slayers.

Kagome didn't see the trap until it was too late. The demon slayers had brought reinforcements and given the priestess time to prepare her arrow that was pointing at Sesshoumaru while he fought twenty more demon slayers. Where had they come from?

"Sesshoumaru!" she screamed. She jumped in front of him and was stabbed in the back by the arrow.

He caught her in his arms and held her as he killed all of them without hesitation.

"Is it over?" Kagome whispered before passing out.

"Human, you are very foolish."


	21. Sanity

**21\. Sanity**

_"I know that I will sin again," Hollywood Undead, Just Let Me Die_

* * *

She's not here.

Inuyasha's chest tightened. He was in the future. Inuyasha burst out of the well.

It was late. The future was still loud. Even if it was dark. It was always too loud. He could hear all the cars moving and people talking. It was less noise than the day, but it was still loud for him. He was grateful that Kagome's family shrine was quiet. Inuyasha had waited till it was dark since he wanted no one to see him. Kagome wasn't here. She had been gone for weeks. He had no idea where she was. He kept coming here anyway. Just in case that she returned. He kept going from the past to the future.

Quietly, He snuck into her window, sat on the floor of her bedroom and lowered his head. He felt like he was going crazy.

Where could she be?

He had thrown himself into the well over a hundred times. Today, Sango had even fought with him just to make him stop. She had been so angry at him. Sometimes he wondered if Sango was a half-demon too. She was too strong for a human. Sango wanted him to wait for Miroku and Lady Kaeda to fix the well. He had promised to stop, then had waited until she slept.

Inuyasha's hands shook.

It was all his fault. He had failed Kagome. He had not protected her. Now she was lost. Miroku was working on a spell with Kaeda to break the enchantment on the spell.

He was distraught.

Inuyasha missed Kagome so much.

He loved her. She was supposed to be only a friend or a traveling companion. He never wanted to love her. She was from another time and place. It was not meant to be. Yet, his stupid heart had loved her the minute that their eyes had met.

Kagome said that she would stay by his side, but she would not keep that promise. Eventually she would get tired of the feudal era. She would miss her family and friends. She would miss her life here. He could never compete with the future. He was a poor half-demon that only owned the clothes on his back and Tetatsaiga. He had nothing to offer her except his protection. Now he even failed in that.

She would hate him. It was only right. He had failed. It twisted his heart with remorse.

He failed the woman that he loved.

Inuyasha loved Kagome so much.

Loved her so much that it scared him. He had not loved Kikiyo like that. He loved Kikiyo, but he was in love with Kagome. Kikiyo always asks him to go to hell with her, but if it was Kagome she would never have to ask.

He couldn't live without Kagome.

It was not possible for him.

Kagome was too much a part of him. If she died than he died too. That it why he never thought twice about risking his life for her. If someone had to die than let it be him.

Not her.

Never

He would fight anyone and risk everything for her safety. She was his salvation. The first time that he had found somewhere to belong. Inuyasha had spent his whole life wandering. Always alone.

Kagome had changed that. She had changed everything. She was home. Without her there was nothing left for him.

But Inuyasha was too afraid to ruin it all by telling her.

He had tried his best to keep Kagome from finding out how he felt. He didn't want to ever make her choose between him and her family.

The only way to keep her was as a friend. It would keep things the same, so he wouldn't lose her. Inuyasha couldn't bear to lose Kagome. She meant everything to him. The idea of fighting Naraku was nothing compared to confessing to Kagome. If she rejected him then it would destroy him.

He would rather keep everything inside.

He knew that Kagome loved him. That is what made it worst. She loved him. Kagome was not good at hiding her feelings. He knew.

But they were from two different eras. Kagome might love him, but she loved her family too. She could never tell her mother goodbye. Besides Inuyasha would never ask her too. He lost his mother and wished he could have her back. How could he ask Kagome to do that for him?

It was crazy for him to love her the way that he did. He thought about her all day and could never stand it whenever she went back home. It made him crazy with jealousy when Kouga touched her. He lost his reason when it came to Kagome.

It wasn't normal this love that he had. It was an obsession. Kagome was his greatest strength and his greatest weakness.

He only wanted to go to hell after the final battle since he he knew that Kagome would leave. The only reason that she came to the past was because of the jewel, once it was over, he would never see her again. Then once Kagome left than Inuyasha was done. He couldn't go on. His life had been too hard and too lonely. He had enough of it.

Kagome was heaven. How can you leave heaven then go back to hell? Inuyasha was strong, but he was not that strong. He couldn't do it again.

He would let Kikiyo take his life, because he would have no reason to live anymore.

The idea of never seeing Kagome again...

No, he couldn't do it. He would go insane. Lose himself to his demonic blood. It was better for everyone if he died instead of losing his mind and hurting innocent people.

Inuyasha couldn't talk to Kagome about this. He didn't want her to stay with him out of guilt. He hated how Kikiyo always tried to make him feel guilty. He would never do that to anyone.

Even now Inuyasha could feel the grips of his sanity were loosening. He needed her. He couldn't even go this long without her. He needed Kagome. He needed her like air and water.

She was so good. Like an angel with no darkness in her heart. She always tried to do the right thing. She wished everyone to be happy. She wanted to help the weak and poor. Kagome was a true priestess. The ones that used to walk the earth before. A priestess that used her holy powers to save the ones in need. She was a leader and he followed her. They all followed her. Her conviction and light was too strong. Inuyasha was her servant, her guardian. It was his duty to protect her in her mission.

Inuyasha never followed anyone, but he followed her. He never admitted it out loud Miroku did once. It was when he first joined them. Inuyasha had confronted him. He wanted Miroku gone if he had intentions like the wolf. He didn't want any lecher around Kagome.

Instead, Miroku looked him right in the eye and said that was not why he had joined them. If he only wanted a woman than there were plenty. Lady Kagome was a leader. He said that he had never met anyone like her. She had a mission and a focus. She was so pure that Miroku couldn't turn away. She was a priestess unlike any other. Miroku was a priest but was nowhere near that level of purity. Miroku was as corrupted as many other the priesthood. It was why he left them long ago. He refused to work with them. They were as greedy as Naraku, except looking for political powers. Lady Kagome gave him hope that there was still good in this world. She was the living embodiment of justice. The way that a priestess should be. Miroku would follow her anywhere. He would lay down his life for Lady Kagome. He swore that if Inuyasha ever tried to hurt Kagome that he would not hesitate to purify Inuyasha or use his wind tunnel to protect Kagome.

His blue eyes didn't even flinch as he stared Inuyasha down that day. He had even slightly released his spiritual energy to back up his threat.

That was why since Kagome had been missing that Miroku had not slept. Miroku was spending all his time trying to break the spell.

But Inuyasha was tired of waiting. If only he hadn't killed that witch then he would have dragged her to the well to make her undo the spell. He just hadn't realized what she had done to the well until it was too late.

It was his fault that Kagome was lost. His mistake.

Enough. Inhaling her sweet scent in order to calm his raging emotions.

He would find where ever that Kagome was and bring her back. Why was the well not letting him go to where she is. All this wasted time. What if Kagome was hurt by now? He had to find her. There had to be a way. Kagome attracted trouble and allied like flies. Although she was a survivor when she wanted to be. She probably already found new friends to protect her. Kagome was never alone. But he was not letting anyone keep her. He was bring her back.

He bowed his head towards her empty bed, "Kagome, I will find you. Wait for me. I swear it." he whispered.

Inuyasha returned to the past then had ran the whole night through the forest without resting. He was hunting. It took him hours until he found who he was looking for.

"Lord Inuyasha? What are you doing here?" Myoga, the flea asked in disbelief.


	22. Let her go

**22\. Let her go**

_"I can't say the word goodbye," Searching for an exit. _

* * *

Inuyasha told him the whole story from the beginning. He didn't leave anything out from the story until the moment that Kagome disappeared. Myoga didn't speak for a few minutes.

"Aren't you going to say something?" Inuyasha stared at him as his agitation rose.

"I'm see," Myoga said as he rubbed his tiny chin.

"That's it!" Inuyasha's temper exploded, "I came all this way and all you can say is I see!"

What a waste of time! He never should have come here. It took all his control not to kill the flea demon on the spot. Inuyasha had run nonstop for hours just so he can ask Myoga for help. Inuyasha was not in the mood to play any games with Myoga. His temper and stress were itching to destroy anything.

"Lady Kagome is dead." Myoga shook his head. "I'm sorry Lord Inuyasha. She was a good human. We will all miss her."

"What did you say!" Inuyasaha shouted.

"She's gone. I give you my deepest condolences."

Inuyasha's eyebrow was twitching, "I never said that she was dead."

"Isn't that why you are here?"

"You idiot! That is not why I am here! I am going to fix the well and I came here to see if you knew anything."

Myoga' face looked grim, "There is no reason to open the well. You have to factor in the time. Maybe if you came here earlier? It's too late. You need to face the facts.I'm sorry- " Myoga started to say.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed, "What did you say?"" he hissed.

"Lord Inuyasha, you are being unreasonable. There is little chance that Kagome survived. You must accept it. She is only human. The only reason that she survived all this time is because you protect her. Without you by her side, surely, Kagome is gone. I know that you were close to her, but that is why demons and humans do not mix. Humans are too fragile. No, offense to your half-human heritage. But you are only alive because of your demon blood. If it wasn't for that you would be dead long ago. You were going to lose her eventually. I didn't think that it would be so soon. You should find a nice demon girl to settle with. I know the perfect one. Her name is-"

"Shut up," Inuyasha sneered. "I don't want another girl. I want to find Kagome."

Myoga shook his head, "Kagome is gone. But how can you surprised. You should have known that this day was going to come. You really never thought about it."

Inuyasha lunged at Myoga with his claws, "Shut up!"

"I am only telling you the truth. You just don't want to hear it. You should have been prepared for this day. Especially after all the times that she almost died before. Frankly, I was surprised that she lived as long as she did." Myoga said.

"Are you saying that you knew that this would happen?" Inuyasha shouted.

"Lord Inuyasha, you are not listening. How could I know that the well would malfunction? I'm just saying that you are young. I know that you cared for her. But demons and humans shouldn't not associate or in your case half-demons. Look at your own parents. It didn't work. You should find a demon to mate. A human can never be your mate. A bond between a half-demon and a human is not possible. I have never seen it."

Inuyasha's claws swiped at him.

Wisely, Myoga moved away in fright, "Lord Inuyasha calm down. I don't mean that. I am only trying to help you understand. We should have had this talk a long time ago. I should never have let you get attached to another human..."

"Let me-!"

Myoga stood up, "You need to calm down. Face the facts. You are not a little pup anymore. You see death every day. Death is part of life. You will move on eventually. Just think of all the good times that you had. Let it go. At least you didn't marry her and watch her grow old while you stay young. It is better this way."

"Myoga, I didn't come here for your idiotic idea of comfort. If I even needed that trust me you are the last person that I would ever come to." Inuyasha said.

Myoga's eyes widened, "Lord Inuyasha, I was only trying to help you."

"Help?" Inuyasha scoffed, "I will never need that kind of help from you. What happens between Kagome and me is none of you or anyone else's business. I don't care that she is human. My mother was a human in case you forgot. I will not stop looking for Kagome. Never! Do you hear me! You can't stop me and neither can anyone else. So don't bother wasting your time."

"I want you to start telling me everything that you now about the well."

"The well?"

"Yes, tell me about the bone eater's well."

Myoga looked at him strangely, "You really do not know?"

"Know what?"

"Of course," Myoga leaned forward. "The bone eater's well was built by your father, the great dog demon."

Inuyasha blinked in shock. That was the last thing that he expected to hear.

"Your father was a time traveler just like you. He used to travel to distant times in order to prepare for the future. It was how he became the most powerful demon in the world. The great dog demon was wise beyond our years. It was how he knew that he needed to protect you by giving you Tetatsaiga. He saw you in the future. He knew that you would need a way to seal your blood. He knew that he couldn't leave the task of giving you the sword to your brother Sesshoumaru. He knew what will happen."

Inuyasha scoffed, "That is a lie. If my old man could travel in time and knew the future why did he die?"

"You always travel to Lady Kagome's time. Do you know if you survive to that time?"

"No."

"Do you know if you die?"

"Probably. Maybe. I don't know." Inuyasha admitted.

Myoga smiled, "Your father didn't know either, but he did come to the future."

"If he came to the future and saw me than why didn't he ever talk to me?" Inuyasha asked quietly.

"If you see your son in Kagome's future are you going to talk to him. What would you say to him?" Myoga asked.

Inuyasha face blanched, "Son? What son? I don't have a kid."

"In the future, you might have one. What if you saw him?" Myoga insisted.

"Well-" Inuyasha said, "I wouldn't know what to say. Besides if, it was my real kid. He wouldn't believe me anyway. It would be no point."

"Exactly," Myoga said. "Your father was very careful about concealing his powers and scent whenever he traveled through time. He has never even talked to me in the future. He only would talk to me when he returned to the past. I never talked to him since his death. I hope one day to see my lordship one more time but he has never revealed himself to me."

He was shocked. He never considered that anyone else could travel through the well besides him and Kagome could travel through the well.

Then he had a horrifying thought. "Wait a minute. Does that mean that that bastard can use the well?"

"Excuse me?

"Can Sesshoumaru use the well?"

Myoga nodded, "Of course he can. He refuses too though."

"Why?"

"Lord Sesshoumaru never believed the great dog demon. I hardly believed it myself. It was only I saw things happen as he said that I believed him."

"Like what?"

"Your father knew that Naraku would come. He said my sons will defeat one of the greatest villain of all time."

"Sons?"

"Yes, you and Sesshoumaru will defeat Naraku together."

Inuyasha shook his head," My old man must be crazy if he thinks me and that bastard will work together. No way. He must never have went to the future since that will never happen. Enough with the history lesson. Get to the point."

"Okay, I see you don't want to indulge me."

Inuyasha crossed his arms.

Myoga sighed, "Inuyasha, unless you find your father. I can't think of anyone else who can help you. You have only one option. You need to go to the other well."


	23. Portal

**Chapter 23 Portal**

_**"When angels fall with broken wings," Angels Fall, Breaking Benjamin**_

* * *

They were all dead

Sesshoumaru did not bother to congratulate himself on defeating the bothersome demon slayers. Arrogance was the reason for their death. Mere humans did not live long enough to train enough to defeat this Sesshoumaru.

But there was the matter of Inuyasha's almost mate? The strange priestess was bleeding on him. Was she dead already? How weak?

She breathed.

This time traveling girl might survive. He had questions for her then he would return her to the future. This was not her time. If he was able to regret his decisions than he would regret helping this little priestess. It was not usual for him to get involved with human affairs.

He needed to remove the arrow in the human without further injuring her.

The cloudy sky looked as if it would rain soon. He wanted to take the priestess to another location before the storm began.

He broke the arrowhead, held both ends of the arrow, and yanked. Then to his almost shock, everything started glowing with magic.

A portal opened and pulling Kagome and Sesshoumaru into it. A trap.

It happened so fast and quick. Sesshoumaru's eyes flashed red as he tried to resist the vortex as it pulled them deeper into the darkness. Snarling and clawing against the vortex, while never releasing his grip on Kagome. Using all his powers to resist, but unable to get free of the pull. Reaching but never getting closer until the exit closed, and they fell into the darkness until he landed in a strange place.

* * *

Where were they?

The trees were a sickly shade of green. The sky was blood red. What was this place? What is going on? The arrow must have had a spell on it. When he got out of here, he vowed to find Lord Usui and torture him slowly.

What was wrong with his senses? He could not sense or smell anything at all.

Sesshoumaru looked at the priestess bleeding in his arms. For a moment, he wondered if she died. It would be disappointing. The blood poured heavily. He set her on the ground, took off his haori, and wrapped it tightly around her to stop the blood loss.

"Priestess, wake up." Sesshoumaru hissed.

She ignored him and he growled at her.

"This Sesshomaru demands that you wake up."

Nothing.

How dare she ignore his commands and make him repeat himself? He hated repeating himself. He slight hit her with his demonic energy.

Kagome's eyes flew open, "Did you hit me?" she asked. Suddenly the pain burned through her. It was agonizing. It felt like she was being torn apart.

"Ahhh!" Kagome screamed.

Sesshoumaru was tempted to kill her. "Silence."

Tears streamed down her face, "It hurts!"

His claws tightened around her, "You must be quiet or you will draw enemies to us. Now is not a good time to do battle."

He didn't bother to explain that he had no idea where they were.

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "I can't stand it! It hurts! Sesshoumaru!"

Sesshoumaru's nerves were cracking. What did she expect from him? They were in a strange place that he did not recognize. He did not know what to do. He had to think of a way to save her. But he was a general, a warrior, not a healer. Why couldn't she stop making a nuisance? Couldn't she see that he was helping her? He had not abandoned her to her death although he had considered it, he had not. He had even let her blood stain his favorite haori.

"Sesshoumaru!" Kagome withered in pain.

He wanted to sigh. "Priestess, you must heal yourself. We must leave this place."

Breathing heavily, the girl ignored him.

"Priestess, heal yourself."

Kagome blinked, as the words registered, "I don't know how."

Sesshoumaru hissed as his impatience was wearing thin, "Priestess, you have much power. How can you not know how to use it?"

She screamed as another round of pain hit, "I don't know how to do that."

"You can and you will or you will die."

Strangely, her smile was full of pain. "But you will bring me back."

Sesshoumaru cocked his head, "I have many powers but reviving the dead is not one of them."

"But you have Tensaiga?"

He had not thought of his father's sword in so long. "It is lost."

She looked at him in disbelief, "You lost your sword?"

"Tensaiga is my father's sword. It is not mine. It was lost along with Tetatsaiga after his death."

The priestess started shaking. He thought she was going into shock but she was laughing.

"Sesshoumaru, what should I do?" Kagome whispered.

"Take your mate's strength." Sesshoumaru decided. It was the only option.

"What?"

Why must she make him repeat himself, "You have a mate? Take his strength."

She lowered her gaze, "Not really. But he doesn't remember me. I am not his mate."

Sesshoumaru growled in anger at her ignorance, "lt doesn't matter. It can be done."

Kagome shuddered as another wave of pain hit her. "How?"

"Find the bond between you two and pull," Sesshoumaru instructed. "Now before it is too late."

He set her down on the ground so he wouldn't get purified. He watched as she did as she was instructed.

Finally, she collapsed and he picked her up. "I feel so weak. Did I do it wrong?"

"You only closed your wound, but you lost much blood. You must rest so your body will create more."

"Okay-where is my book bag?" She asked softly against his chest.

He didn't answer since he had it in his other hand. It was up to him to figure out where they were. He had always relied on his own self to get him out of every did not need help. Help was for the weak. Sesshoumaru had an alliance with himself and that was enough.

It was why he was shocked that Kagome had tried to save him. It was almost funny. Sesshoumaru being saved by this girl. By Inuyasha's mate. How ironic? If she had not blocked the arrow then Sesshoumaru might have been purified. Or at least burned.

Instead, he was safe but Kagome was not. It made him angry.

"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome whispered in horror. "Where are we?" Her eyes were wide in fear as she stared at him. "Are we dead? Is this the underworld?"

It was not as if he spent his free time discovering the underworld. "Foolish human. You are alive."

Kagome put her hand on her heart after feeling it beat, she sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. I am too young to die."

Sesshoumaru considered dropping her, "All humans die young."

She frowned, "No they do not. I still have many things that I needed to do."

"You still will die young."

"How old are you?" Kagome asked.

"I am 210 years old."

"You are so old." she commented under her breath.

"Prepare."

"For what?" Kagome asked.

Instead of answering her foolish question, he summoned his energy and shot into the sky while Kagome screamed. He went higher and higher beyond what he was used to flying. Determined to get to the ceiling of this artificial world. It was elusive. As if, he was chasing the moon. The sky never got closer. Only further away. It made no sense at all. The sky must be an illusion. It never even changed appearance. It looked the same, ugly blood red color.

He stopped flying and stood midair. He looked down at all the trees below him that were all a sickly color of green. The river was a blue-purple. This place was unnatural.

"Kagome, can you sense anything." He asked her.

She closed her eyes, after a few moments, she stared at him in shock, "It feels like a spell. It is not real. That must be an illusion."

"Can you purify it?" He asked her.

Kagome froze, "Right now?"

He almost sighed then reached behind her to get her bow and arrow. He handed it to her.

She tried to get as good as a position as she could without falling to her death. "I can do this."

She gathered her power then shot the arrow into the artificial sky. The sky glowed with her purification powers. "Yes!"

Then nothing happened. The sky was unaffected to their dismay.

Angrily, Sesshoumaru flew back up again and again. Never getting any further.

"This is like trying to catch a rainbow," Kagome touched his shoulder, "Let's rest for tonight. It is getting darker."

"Sesshoumaru, I need to go home. I have already been away from my family for too long. They must be so worried. Then my friends must be looking everywhere for me. This cannot be happening to me. I have the worst luck. At least I can tell you that I know you in the future, but me? What if I never see anyone again?" Her fingers shook.

"You will leave this place with me." He stated.

Kagome breathed out, "I'm sorry. I know that you would not leave me behind. You have more honor than that. I just am worried that I will never get back to the future."

"It is not needed. I will return you to your mate."

Kagome blushed, "Inuyasha is not my mate!"

Sesshoumaru's tone dropped dangerously, "You would deny your mate?"

She waved her hands, "No, no, I can't go back to the Inuyasha in this time, because it will change the future. I have to get back to the future Inuyasha, and he is not my mate."

Sesshoumaru was tempted to ask her to explain that, however he decided against it.

"If I can't get back to the future than I will have nowhere to go. This is not my time, I need to go home," she continued.

Sesshoumaru ignored her and looked for a place to rest. It was getting dark and it would be better to explore this place in the morning. He could not believe it. This had to be a trap.

It was not easy to find a place to rest. Now was not the time to get into another battle. Kagome still needed to recover from her injuries. It would do him no good if she fell ill. He may need her to draw from Inuyasha's powers again.

He knew that it was not the best idea to draw someone's powers when they were not with you. But if Inuyasha had any dignity then he should not mind sharing his power with his wounded almost mate. Unless Inuyasha was even more disgraceful than he thought.

He wished that family honor was not important to him or he never would have pulled that arrow from Kagome and ended up in this place. If she was anyone else, he never would have wasted his time.

Sesshoumaru hated to admit that he was having difficulty with his senses. The portal had taken them somewhere that he had never been. The sky was different, and even the grass seemed all artificial. As if this world was an illusion. What matter of a spell was this place?

They continued looking for a place to rest. Finally, he leaned against the tree, while Kagome tried to relax unsuccessfully. He was just glad that she was quiet. He needed to meditate, so he can get his senses back in order. It was not the right time to make any mistakes. He needed to be alert.

"Did you want me to make a barrier?"

Sesshoumaru glared at her.

"What? My other barrier did not hurt you. I know how to control my barrier."

Sesshoumaru continued to glare at him. "I doubt you can control your power while you sleep. Your assistance is not needed."

Kagome's jaw dropped, "I was just trying to help." She searched her book bag and took out some snacks. She handed one to Sesshoumaru after opening it. He eyed it, but did not take it. "It is food. Aren't you hungry?"

Sesshoumaru would rather go hunting, but since he was not sure if there was anything edible here, it was probably not a good idea to hunt. "I am not hungry."

Kagome did not move her hand. "Just try it."

He did not think that she would leave him alone, so he took it from her and took a bite.

She grinned, "How is it?"

"It tastes too sweet."

She huffed and started to eat her snack. "I don't feel so good. I feel so weak. Did I bleed that much?"

Sesshoumaru did not understand why she was awake. She should be sleeping from her injuries. He doubted that he would sleep at all until they left.

"Sesshoumaru? What are we going to do?" Kagome whispered as she yawned.

"Sleep."

"How can I sleep? This place is so strange. Even the grass seems weird."

Which is why Sesshoumaru was not sleeping. Who could create such a place? And why were they sent here? "We must be cautious until we discover the nature of this place. You can sleep close to my person."

He did not have to repeat himself. Kagome was next to him in a second, "Thank you. This place gives me the creeps."

He did not want her far away anyway, since she was not well and it was easier to carry her if she was close by. It was as if something was watching them, his senses were still not working, he could only rely on his sight, not his powers or sense of smell, however, he could not shake that feeling. Something or someone was watching them.


	24. Another Thing

**Chapter 24: Another Thing **

"_You tell me hold on," Bleeding Out, Imagine Dragons_

* * *

Inuyasha was in the worst mood. The bad mood started the day that he had woken up on the beach. He had no idea how he had ended up there. In fact, he had no memory of how he go there, and it bugged the hell out of him.

Why couldn't he remember anything before that day at the beach?

He never had the best memory but this was crazy. It was like a few days of his life had been erased. He couldn't even remember what he ate. It was all gone.

Every since that day Inuyasha was angry. Everything bothered him. Everything set him off. He had killed four insect demons today and destroyed several trees.

He ran and ran until he got blisters on his feet. Nothing made him feel better.

Suddenly, it hit him all at once.

It knocked the breath out of him.

It was as if someone tried to steal his soul.

It took his demonic strength

He had almost been knocked unconscious. It took what little energy that he had left to climb into a tree to rest.

What was wrong with him?

He fell unconscious.

Inuyasha was dreaming about a girl. It was not a different girl. It was the same girl. She had dark hair and brown eyes. She wore a strange green skirt that was too high, but let him see her long legs. Then her smile made his heart stop, it was as bright as the sun.

She was the most beautiful girl that Inuyasha had never seen.

It was the same dream for the third night in a row. Of course, it was not exactly the same. But the place was always the same.

They were at the beach again. It was that beach

"Inuyasha!" she shouted as she ran up to him and threw her herself into arms.

He hugged her and breathed in her flowery scent. He held her tighter, and she giggled in his arms.

"Where did you go?" he asked her as he nuzzled her black hair.

She froze, "Nowhere important. Are you upset?"

She always left. Every night. She disappeared.

But he wasn't upset. How could he be upset when she came back to him? When he looked forward to sleeping. Looked forward to holding her and seeing her smile. The worst part was waking up. His fingers trembled at the thought of it.

"But I wish you could have stayed with me. I miss you," Inuyasha whispered in her ear.

She smiled, "Please, you did not."

"I did too. I always miss you when you are gone," Inuyasha teased her then he spun her around until she couldn't stop giggling.

She was grinning from ear to ear with a deep blush staining her cheeks.

Inuyasha's heart started pounding. He couldn't look at her. He had to look away.

She touched his shoulder, "Inuyasha? Are you okay?"

He looked up and their eyes met. For a moment, he didn't speak but neither did she.

Finally, she broke his gaze and started to run. "You can't catch me!" she teased.

He growled and pretended to chase her until they both fell onto the sand.

"Inuyasha, oh no! You caught me," she said as she traced her fingers on his cheek.

He laughed, "Did you think that you could get away from me that easily?"

"Of course didn't you see how fast I was running?" her eyes sparkled.

"Really?" he smiled widely.

"Yes," she said. "Did you miss me?"

His heart melt at her teasing voice, "Always, when am I going to see you again," he asked.

Inuyasha wanted to beg her to stay. To make her never leave him. But he couldn't say it. The words never left his mouth. It was too painful.

She caressed his cheek softly, "One day. We will see each other one day again." She promised.

Inuyasha growled at her, "How long is one day?"

She smiled, "We will see each other again."

"Don't go." he whispered as he looked at the ground.

She pulled his chin up, "I can't stay here. It is not meant to be. We will see each other again but you have to be patient."

"Where do you go?" he whispered. Why do you always leave? Are you real?

"Inuyasha!" she screamed.

"What's wrong!" he shouted.

Suddenly, he was left alone.

With a gasp, Inuyasha woke up. Why did he keep having that dream? Who was that girl? Why was his heart hurting?

Why did he feel so lost?

Who was that girl that he kept dreaming about?

It made no sense at all. It was only a dream. But it felt so real. She was so real. The girl in his dreams. Inuyasha felt like shit. Since when did he care about girls? Why did it hurt? He must be going crazy.

His heart was broken by a girl that was not even real.

He was pathetic.

She is not real.

It is just a dream.

A horrible nightmare of another thing that he would never have.

Inuyasha had never realized how lonely he was before, but lately it was unbearable.

It had never bothered him before, but now it felt like there was a big hole in his chest.

It made it hard to breath. Hard to think. Hard to stay in control. This was not good at all.

He needed to figure out a way to bury these feelings. Just cut them away before it eats him alive.

But what if she was real?

Should he look for her?

Maybe it was a premonition? He did have good instincts. What if he wasn't crazy? What if she was out there somewhere?

Either that or he had become insane.

That was the other option.

Although at this moment, Inuyasha could not tell.

Inuyasha needed to go back to the beach. These dreams started on the day that he woke up on the beach. It all began there. Maybe there is a reason why?

Maybe he would find a clue.

It would be wonderful, if she was real, and not just a part of his imagination.

But then again no girl in real life would ever look at him like that.


	25. Unnatural

**25\. Unnatural **

"No Mercy. How do you like it?" Trapt, Bring it.

* * *

Sesshoumaru frowned.

The girl was still unconscious It had been a few hours and still she had not woken. It was unbelievable. How could she feel safe in the arms of a demon? What kind of priestess was she? His aura should keep her awake not put her to sleep. It was insulting. She was tucked against his chest held by his new arm as she sleep deeply to recover from her injuries. Sesshoumaru walked for hours. He did not know where he was or where he was going.

He conjured his cloud under his feet and flew straight up. This place was strange. The sky was a blood red color. It looked so unnatural. He tried to climb higher but hit a barrier.

The sky must be false.

It seemed as if it was a prison. When he flew high into the sky, the sky had some kind of barrier.

They were trapped in some sort of demon had humans created such a place? When had humans become so clever? He never thought that humans could ever trap him. It was a shame. He would destroy Lord Usui when he escaped from here.

Already they had been attacked multiple times but Sesshoumaru had easily had destroyed them.

Why were they attacking him?

When had he become a loser like Inuyasha? Demons usually thought twice about attacking him. Instead, the demons here attacked him as if he had no power. It was ridiculous.

Another demon jumped down with it's fangs bared. Sesshoumaru's claws shredded through the serpent demon.

Okay- that was just insulting. What a weak demon!

Did he lose all his respect?

Sesshoumaru glared at the sleeping priestess in his arms. It must be all her fault. Why couldn't Inuyasha get a more intimidating mate? Instead of an untrained priestess that didn't even wake up after all the attacks that he protected her from?

He could smell more demons coming.

It was a group.

Great.

Sesshoumaru did not want to fight. He wanted to get out of here. He wanted the priestess to wake up. It was not his day.

Could he get away?

No, they were too close.

He couldn't run away.

He stopped and prepared to fight.

The taller demons surrounded him.

Why were they making it so easy?

He flicked his wrist releasing his whip and spun intent to destroy them all at once. Then one of the demons grabbed his whip, grinned, then yanked it, pulling Sesshoumaru forward to his surprise.

Immediately, Sesshoumaru dissolved the whip.

He took out his sword and gripped Kagome tighter. The other demon laughed at him. Sesshoumaru did not need his arm since he had become used to fighting without it.

"I'm Goro, that's Haru, Taro,Tomo, and Shu," he said. "In this place we have rules. You don't seem to understand. You need to submit to the ones that are stronger than you."

Sesshoumaru's eyes gleamed maliciously, "This Sesshoumaru submits to no one. Leave before I end your lives."

"Sesshoumaru?" the demon asked. "Lord Sesshoumaru? You were caught by humans. That is too funny. You must not be as strong as what your reputation implies. I can't believe that today I will be the one that kills Lord Sesshoumaru."

The demon lord almost laughed at this demon's arrogance. It was wishful thinking.

"Sesshoumaru, Inutashio's daughter?" Goro jeered him. "Your father must be so ashamed that his son looks like a girl and is only half his size. What a shame! But it is good since we don't want another Inutashio walking on this land. Inutashio was a tyrant that stole my family's land. Lord of the West? Please Inutashio was the Tyrant of the West."

Sesshoumarus eyes turned red. Inside he screamed at the disrespect but he refused to show it his face was impassive as ever. You must never show your emotions to your enemy. It will only give away your weaknesses and ensure an early death. He refused to be affected by the useless opinion of this low level it wasn't as if he hadn't heard it before.

Goro launched at him with sword but Sesshoumaru blocked him with his sword.

Yet, Goro pushed him back a few feet until Sesshoumaru was able to stop, then he leaped up and kicked Goro in the face sending the demon to the ground.

But Goro stood up quickly then he attacked Sesshoumaru in a frenzy.

Sesshouaru blocked him blow by blow. Goro almost sliced through Kagome but Sesshoumaru moved away just in time.

Why couldn't the useless girl wake up?

"Look how the lord of puppies is protecting a human. How low that you have fallen. Why don't you kill her her? It was humans that trapped us us in here so you should give her to us so we can torture her. It be fun. Give her to us. Her scent is just drawing every demon to you. You might as well get rid of her. Or is she your master? I heard that every dog must have an owner."

Sesshoumaru just wanted to kill them all so he could find shelter. He rushed forward with his claws drawn. He swiped at Goru but Goru jumped out of the way.

They all attacked him.

He dodged them and hit as many as he could. He relied on his speed to keep him and Kagome from getting hurt.

But these were not humans so they did not die easily.

Yet, he was Lord Sesshoumaru so he did not die easily either.

Still he was surprised that the priestess was sleeping.

Then he saw his opening. He cut through all of them in one swooping motion.

They were dead. Now he could finally leave. He turned his back, but then he heard motion.

To his disgust the demons pieces reanimated until the demons had multiplied.

Now there was more of them.

Great.

Now, what was he supposed to do?

How can you defeat someone that can't be hurt by your sword?

One of the new Goros reformed, "Did you think that it was going to be that easy to kill us?"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "I see, I must cut you into smaller pieces."

He rushed forward determined to kill them all.


	26. Surrounded

**Chapter 26: Surrounded**

"_How did we get here?" Paramore, Decode_

* * *

Inuyasha!

Her heart was pounding and aching as her mind was full of Inuyasha.

She missed him so much.

Kagome felt awful. Her head hurt. Her eyes hurt. She opened her eyes and saw Sesshoumaru glance at her. She tried to move but was unable to since he was holding her tight. Then she looked around in confusion. What was going on?

What? Where was she? Sesshoumaru was holding her so tight that she knew that she would have bruises.

"Sesshoumaru? Get off of me." Kagome demanded blinking.

"Silence," he snarled.

It was then that she looked down. They were in the air. Just a few feet. She looked down to see the demon attacking them. It was then that Kagome looked behind them. They were surrounded by a hoard of demons.

She wasn't sure what kind of demons that they were, but they looked like monsters. They were hideous.

How many were they?

It was a swarm.

Inuyasha's name was stuck in her throat. He wasn't here to save her. She wished he was here. When Inuyasha was with her she never felt afraid. Not that Sesshoumaru wasn't strong but it wasn't the same. She didn't know him. She wished so much that Inuyasha would show up, but she knew that it wasn't possible. If only Inuyasha was here, he could use the wind scar.

They were in trouble.

Sesshoumaru had no windscar. No wonder he wanted Tetatsaiga so much. Great. What a time to understand this stoic demon.

If only she could convince him to runaway. Sesshoumaru could fly them away, but the stupid demon would probably rather die than runaway.

"You finally decided to join the world of the living", Sesshoumaru landed on the broken ground avoiding the attacks of the demons as he cut through the crowd.

"Watch out!" Kagome screamed as Sesshoumaru continued fighting oblivious to her screams.

He cut through the demons quickly and without mercy. But it was too many of them. No matter how many that he killed, each demon would rise again then would split into a new demon.

It was getting too many by the minute. They were going to get overwhelmed.

Kagome started to panic as she looked around. Her headache vanished. She had to help Sesshoumaru. He couldn't fight them. No matter how many he killed, more kept multiplying. The only one that did not multiply was the one that she had purified. She had to purify them. She had no arrow. She was too weak to throw projectiles.

"Sesshoumaru, they are not dying!" Kagome asked. "Let's leave. There is too many. It is only us against all of them. Well- technically only you. We need to go. Can't you fly us out of here?"

He ignored her.

All of the demons had chose that moment to launch themselves at the two of them. Sesshoumaru spun them into a tight deadly circle. Kagome felt like that she was on merry-go-round. He cut through each demon that got close enough to them.

He smirked until they got up again. Now there was more of them.

"Sesshoumaru! Stop!" Kagome shouted. "This is not working. You are just making more of them! Let's go! Who cares about your stupid pride! Surviving is more important. You can't fight all of them! Let's go! Please!"

Now there were so many demons that she couldn't count them. She wanted to fight but his grip was a vice grip.

What could she do? At least she had to put a barrier behind them. So he wouldn't have to keep turning in every direction. But Kagome was so tired. She could barely get a grip of her power.

She had to make a barrier.

Sesshoumaru needed help even if he did not ask for it.

Kagome dug deep inside herself and wrapped a barrier behind them. The demons tried to take it down but were purified instantly. The rest stayed away from the barrier.

He glanced at her for a second before he keep fighting.

It was hard to hold up the barrier. It was taking all her energy. She felt so dizzy.

She couldn't give up or they would die. She had to try. They had find a way. There had to be a solution. Kagome had to find the strength within her.

She had to give Sesshoumaru time.

How could Sesshoumaru always look so confident? This fight was not a fight that you should be calm in. By now Inuyasha would have turned demon.

But Sesshoumaru was forever the ice prince. He did not look worried at all.

It felt like her skin was burning. Her limbs were shaking. But she didn't let go.

She needed to guard his back. She had to try her best.

There had to be a solution. Think! Think! There had to be a way out of this. Every time he killed one, it multiplied into another one. Obviously, using a sword was not going to work. She had no arrows and barely any strength. What did they have?

Think!

Her mind was blank. If only Sango was here, she always knew about all the different types of demons and their weaknesses. Kagome had no clue what these things were much less how to kill them.

It wasn't as if she ever had demon anatomy class. Oh- no now there were more demons.

Acid? Sesshoumaru's acid.

Yes, if he melts them then they can not multiply again.

It had to work.

"Sesshoumaru," Kagome said but he ignored her.

She hit his chest, "Don't ignore me."

"Silence," he snarled at her.

Kagome hit him again then winced as her palm hurt.

"Sesshoumaru! Stop cutting them up! You have to melt them with your acid, so they can't get back up," Kagome screamed.

His angry golden eyes caught hers then he smiled an evil smile. He put away his sword, and dropped Kagome on the floor. "Priestess drop your barrier then do not move until I allow it."

Kagome watched as Sesshoumaru eyes turned red, his jaw extended, until he grew into a giant white dog demon. He was as big as a house.

To her horror, he snatched her into his jaws and threw her over his shoulder. She grabbed on to the white fur tightly. His jaws and claws dripped with green venom. The demons stepped back. Sesshoumaru stepped forward. Crushing them with his paws and dissolving them with his acid. Snapping them between his jaws and melting them.

It was so many.

Kagome held on for dear life. She didn't want to fall. He was not even being careful at all. She was being flung around in so many directions. Her knuckles were pale white. She prayed that she would not fall from this height. Why did he have to be so tall?

The demons tried to attack him from the back.

"Behind you!" she screamed.

Sesshoumaru turned around so fast as Kagome screamed in terror. He crushed them.

It felt like hours before it was over. Finally, he transformed without warning tossing Kagome high into the air, catching her with one arm.

"Did you have to do that!" Kagome screamed.

He did not look at her. Instead, he rose above the ground, set her down on his cloud, and took off high into the air at a high-speed.

"Slow down!" Kagome screamed on instinct clinging onto his arm.

"Silence," Sesshoumaru muttered under his breath. "We are being followed."

Kagome looked behind Sesshoumaru to see bat demons behind them. Sesshoumaru speed up. Kagome was shocked that he did not stop to fight.

She did not complain since she was relieved. She didn't realize that they were climbing higher and higher until it became hard to breath.

The bat demons were now underneath them.

Sesshoumaru dropped on top of them and released his enormous aura.

The bats scattered.

Kagome stared at Sesshoumaru in shock, "Can you turn it down? Hello? I am a priestess."

He just grinned his evil grin and it sent a shiver of fear down her spine. She needed to stop forgetting how dangerous that Sesshoumaru was.

Kagome reconsidered her choice of an ally but then he dropped to the ground suddenly.

Knocking all the air out of her lungs, he let her go and she collapsed on the ground.

"We will rest here tonight," He declared then retracting his aura.

Kagome glared at him from the ground, "What is your problem?"

"Priestess, we are in alternate world. I believe it is a prison for demons created by magic. I have heard of such things but I thought that it was a myth," Sesshoumaru said.

She felt her temperature spike, "A alternative what-!"

Was she ever going to go home?


	27. Another Well

**Chapter 27: Another Well**

_"I'm strong on the surface", Linkin Park, Leave out all the rest_

* * *

Inuyasha wanted to kill Myoga again. How could someone that lived for so long not know much of anything? He tried his best to not lose his temper at the old flea demon taking forever to get to the point. He needed to stay calm, listen, and find Kagome.

Finding Kagome is the only thing that mattered but Inuyasha was too upset to think straight, and He had to focus.

"Lord Inuyasha, I'm sorry to tell you that the closest well is inside the Western Palace." Myoga whispered.

Inuyasha growled. Great? Why did it need to be in the one place that he was not allowed in. He had never been inside the Western palace. It was Sesshoumaru's home, so Inuyasha was pretty sure that he was not invited. Not that he had any interest in hanging out with his evil older half-brother. The idea of drinking tea with his arch-enemy made him nauseous.

No way in hell.

Knowing Sesshoumaru he would probably drip his nasty poison in the cup.

"Lord Inuyasha, you can't go there. Your brother may not be there, but the guards are under strict orders to not allow you in. I'm sorry but I can't agree that you go there." Myoga said.

Inuyasha glared at him, "I don't care."

Myoga's tiny fists shook, "Lord Inuyasha, you will be killed. You can not defeat the army of the Western lands. They are the best army that were trained by your own brother. You will die."

"Die?" Inuyasha smirked, "Please, if that bastard trained them then they can't be that good."

Myoga's face turned red, "Lord Inuyasha, you can not be serious. It is one thing to fight one rouge demon, but you cannot fight against soldiers. You will not survive. You can barely hold your own against Lord-"

Inuyasha twitched as the insult hit him, "Are you trying to say that Sesshoumaru can beat me?!" His voice getting deeper and darker with each word.

Myoga backed away in fear, "Well- I- "

Inuyasha stepped forward threateningly, "I am much stronger and better than Sesshoumaru! He is just a spoiled prick that learned how to fight by a training! I learned how to fight for my own life. Sesshoumaru doesn't know how to fight in a real fight! I am much better than him! Plus I have Tetatsaiga! He can never defeat me!"

Myoga waved his arm and bowed, "My apologies Lord Inuyasha I didn't mean to insult you. You are an excellent warrior just like your father. Experience has taught you much."

Inuyasha crossed his arms, "Yea."

"Plus you have loyal friends," Myoga said. "Your brother is not that lucky. He has no one loyal to him except Rin and Jaken, but the Western soldiers are loyal to the Western lands. If you go to the Western palace they will attack you."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, "No way. I will use the Wind Scar and bring down the whole palace if I have to. I will get to the well no matter who tries to stand in my way."

Myoga rubbed his forehead, "I can't stop you. Can I?"

Inuyasha shot him a dirty look, "As if."

"But Inuyasha no female is worth your death. Granted that she was a good female, but-"

"Shut up Myoga."

Myoga would never understand how much Kagome meant to him. Never. No one would understand. He could give up on Kagome even if he tried. He loved her so much. He had to find her. No matter how long it took or how much risk there was. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Nothing except finding Kagome.

"Okay- Lord Inuyasha since you are insisting on rescuing the girl than at least go get your friends. I would feel better if they were with you, also only holy power can activate a time portal. You should bring the priest not the priestess." Myoga insisted.

Inuyasha scowled. He chose to ignore the jab at Kikiyo. He was not planning on telling Kikiyo anything about Kagome's problem, "Then why can't Miroku fix the well?"

"I never said that he could fix it, but he can activate it. Take him with you." Myoga said.

"As if they would let me leave them behind,"Inuyasha shuddered. "I have to go back anyway."

"Inuyasha?" Myoga asked.

"What?" he asked impatiently.

"You know that I see you as my family- Please be careful-" Myoga said.

Inuyasha turned around as he walked away, "Same to you old man."

When Inuyasha returned to the village, he was greeted by Hiraikotsu.

The demon slayer was beyond furious. For a second Inuyasha wondered if she was possessed again. Nope, she just wanted to kill him. What for?

"Inuyasha!" Sango screamed as she attacked him furiously. "Where did you go?"

He avoided her sword and tried his best to not hurt her. "Sango, stop."

"Where did you go?!" Sango asked angrily not stopping her attacks. "You were gone for three days. We are supposed to be helping Kagome! Where were you!"

Inuyasha leaped high into the tree, "Calm down woman. I was trying to help her."

"If you wanted to help Kagome then why did you leave us! You jerk! I was already worried about Kagome. Then you made me worry about you too! You are so selfish Inuyasha!."

Inuyasha swallowed hard. He didn't know what to say to Sango. Maybe if he ignored her then she would go away. It wasn't like she could climb a tree this high. He would wait till she gave up.

"Kilala!" Sango screamed. "Get here right now!"

Inuyasha stared at Kilala in horror. She couldn't possible help Sango attack him. Kilala sat down. Inuyasha breathed a sigh of relief.

"Traitor!" Sango screamed at the cat demon.

"Sango!" Inuyasha shouted. "Knock it off. I was trying to help Kagome. I even have a plan."

Sango crossed her arms, "Really?"

"I swear. Just stop waving around that sword."

Hesitating, Sango glared at him for a moment, "But you better not disappear again without telling anyone where you are going," she threatened before she put away her sword.

Inuyasha jumped down to the ground.

Sango dropped to the floor to his shock.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm okay."

Inuyasha reached down to pull up her chin. "Sango? Why are you crying?"

She threw herself in his arms and sobbed and sobbed. Inuyasha held her until she calmed down.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he stroked her hair.

"I thought that you were gone." she said between sniffles.

Inuyasha was shocked, "That would be a reason to cry?"

She hit his shoulder, "Stupid! I already lost my family once. Now, Kagome is missing and you were gone. I felt like it was happening all over again."

Inuyasha felt horrible and ashamed. "I didn't mean to make you worry."

She pulled away and wiped her eyes, "I know- forget it." she stood up and started to run away.

He snatched her wrist before she could run away, "Sango, I know how you feel. Remember? It's me Inuyasha. You don't have to be so tough all the time in front of me. Trust me. I know exactly, how you feel."

"Inuyasha, I can't lose anymore people," she said her voice shaking as she trembled.

He nodded, "Me either. I'm sorry that I wasn't here. Take a breath."

"Okay," she breathed.

"Don't worry we will find Kagome and bring her back then we can both beat her up for making us worry."

Sango giggled, "Thanks."

Inuyasha grinned crookedly, "Besides, Sango, you are not that good of a demon exterminator to get rid of me." he teased.

She growled like a true demon and chased Inuyasha all the way to Kaeda's hut waving Hiraikotsu.


	28. Options

**Chapter 28: Options**

_"I will go on till the end," Switchfoot, Meant to live_

* * *

Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kilala, and Kaeda sat in Kaeda's tent. Kaeda served them all stew from her pot as they listened to Inuyasha tell his plan.

Inuyasha grinned at Sango, "I told you that I have a plan."

He waited for her to admit that she was wrong for attacking him. Instead, she looked very sad.

Sango smiled softly, "Inuyasha, we can't just walk into the Western Palace. That is not going to work. We need to find another way."

Inuyasha's jaw dropped.

"Inuyasha, "Miroku sighed, "I have to agree. It is foolish to walk right into an army."

Inuyasha leaped to his feet, "If you don't want to go then just say so. I can't believe that I wasted my time to come back and get you."

Miroku stood up, "Inuyasha, we never said that we are not coming. It is just a foolish idea. But it is the only one that might work."

"What are you saying monk!" Sango shouted.

Miroku turned to her, "My dear Sango, I have tried every way that I can think of to fix the well. I can not undo the witch's spell that has blocked Kagome from returning. I can only undo it if Kagome was here, but she is not. It is only reasonable that we go to her."

"We?" Inuyasha blanched. "You can't go in the well."

"Of course I can if I activated the spell. I have learned much about time portals in the last few days. I, not only know how to activate them, but how to allow others in. We will all go together to get Kagome," Mirouku said in a way that left no room for argument.

Shippo stood up, "I can come too."

Miroku hesitated,"Um-"

"No! I am coming!" Shippo shouted.

"But Shippo," Sango started to say as gently as possible.

"No!" Shippo shouted. " I am going to come. I care about Kagome too! Why do I have to stay behind! It is not fair!"

Inuyasha threw up his hands, "Fine. Whatever. You are probably just going to follow us anyway."

Shippo's green eyes flew open, "How did you know?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

They left as soon at sunrise. Even though he wanted to leave last night, he knew that they needed to sleep. He on the other hand couldn't sleep at all. He was too angry and upset to sleep.

He was relieved to be traveling. Although, it felt awkward to be traveling without Kagome. Everyone was more quiet than usual. Even Shippo was quieter, not that that was a bad thing.

Inuyasha was glad. He did not want to talk. He wanted to find Kagome as fast as possible.

Myoga was wrong. Kagome is worth dying for. If you are not willing to die to keep the ones that you love safe than what good are you. What was the point if you will fight to save yourself but not someone else?

Inuyasha had honor contrary to what other people believed. He was willing to die to save his friends. He would even willing to die for that brat Shippo.

Inuyasha could not live with himself if anything happened to his friends. He had to believe that Kagome was okay or he would lose his mind. He didn't care if he never found the jewels or defeated Naraku.

The only thing that mattered was finding Kagome.

He had to find her.

After several hours they stopped to rest. Sango prepared food while they waited.

"Miroku?" Shippo asked. "I miss Kagome."

"We all miss Lady Kagome," Miroku said. "But I'm sure that we will find her before you know it."

Shippo grinned, "Promise?"

Miroku nodded solemnly. "Go help Sango."

Shippo ran away happily.

"Monk, you better be able to activate the spell when we get to the well. Or I swear that I will-" Inuyasha threatened.

Miroku glanced at him, "That is not the hard part. Getting into the Western Palace will be the hard part."

"I'm serious Miroku," Inuyasha glared at him. "None of that fake stuff that you do to the villagers."

Miroku blinked, "What fake things are you referring to?"

Inuyasha pointed his claw at him, "You know when you say that you sense an evil presence but there is nothing."

"I never do that," Miroku said in a false injured voice.

"You do too." Inuyasha insisted.

"There is always an evil presence, but since you lack my spiritual powers, than I can understand why you can't sense it." Miroku said logically.

Inuyasha's jaw dropped, "You have got to be kidding me! You can not be telling me that crap. You are such a liar. How can there be an evil presence every time that we get near a wealthy lord or pretty girl?"

"Good fortune always attracts evil." Miroku said seriously.

"Bull!" Inuyasha shouted.

"Inuyasha, you are beginning to make me feel offended," Miroku said in an indignant tone.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, "All I'm saying is that you better be serious. You better be able to activate the spell. If you can't tell me now and we can find another priest."

Miroku's eyes flashed for a second. Inuyasha thought that Miroku was going to lose his temper, but as quickly as the anger brushed his face, it was gone again. "I can do it."

"Good. I just wanted to make sure," Inuyasha leaned back.

Miroku leaned back also, "Inuyasha, I know that you might find this hard to believe but we all care about Lady Kagome. You are not the only one. We will find her. Lady Kagome is smart, I am sure that she is also working on a way to return to us," Miroku said. "Do not assume the worst. She is not the lost little girl anymore. She is alive. I am sure of it. By now Kagome found new friends to protect her."

Inuyasha growled.

Miroku laughed, "Kagome has a way of collecting friends. Look at all of us. We are all here because she brought us together. I never imagined that I would see a half-demon as my little brother."

"Hey!" Inuyasha protested. "I'm way older than you."

"Age and maturity do not always coincide," Miroku said.

Inuyasha smirked, "Well- I never thought I would call a lecherous monk, my brother."

Shippo ran up to them, "Food's ready!"

Then he stared at Miroku and Inuyasha, "What about me? Do you see me as your brother too?"

Inuyasha bopped him on the head, "Yes, little brother." he said before walking past.

Miroku bopped Shippo on the head as he walked by, "Little brother hurry up or Inuyasha will eat all the food."

"No fair!" Shippo ran quickly to catch up.


	29. The Western Castle

**29\. The Western Castle**

_"I will go on till the end." Breaking Benjamin, Until the End_

* * *

"Thank goodness. Sesshoumaru isn't here," Myouga breathed a tiny si_g_h of relief.

Finally, they had arrived at the infamous Western castle. It was so beautiful and big. Inuyasha had not come here in many years. He swore long ago to never come here again to a place that he was not welcome. He could feel the hurtful memories trying to come out but he strengthened his resolve. Only this time, he was not here to find a place that he belonged. He knew that this was the last place in the world that he belonged.

A half-demon was not welcome here even if it was his so-called home.

Today that did not matter. Today they would sneak into the Western castle and find the magic well so they can bring Kagome back. Miroku had put a concealing spell on everyone to hide their scent and their aura from detection. Now it was Myouga's turn to show them how to sneak into the castle garden to get the well.

So far, Miroku's spell had saved them from being caught.

Of course, Inuyasha had his hand on his trusted sword the whole time in case the concealing spell did not work. It was Miroku after all. Even though Inuyasha had threatened him to swear that he would do this spell correctly, he still doubted the lying monk, so his hand stayed on the hilt of his sword. Inuyasha was determined to get to the magic well no matter what.

He kept an eye out for all the demons around them. Everyone knew that some of the most powerful demons in the West lived here.

Suddenly, Inuyasha froze as he heard the chewing of bones. In the distance, they could see a giant black dog demon walking the grounds. It was almost as large as Sesshomaru's true form. It was eating an entire cow. Red blood was all over its jaws and paws.

Inuyasha felt his stomach turn at the sight. It did not sense them. Although, as hard as Shippo was staring at it, Inuyasha was surprised it did not notice Shippo that flinched at every crunch.

Finally, Inuyasha picked the trembling child up and covered Shippo's eyes with his hands but did not say a word but Inuyasha felt him relax.

There were tall warriors guarding the font gates of the castle. Inuyasha could sense that they were very powerful. But there were many more demons on the inside.

He knew that if they got caught that they would die immediately.

It would not be a random fight against a demon thief. It would be against an army. Not Naraku's army of himself. But an army of trained full demon soldiers that had century's of experience. Although Inuyasha was confident but he was not stupid. The odds were against them. They could not walk in the front door and demand to see the time traveling well. They would be killed on the spot.

He regretted bringing his friends. He wished that he came alone. Inuyasha should not have let them convince him to come. It was a terrible thing to have a friend, since a friend was easy to lose. One moment, just one, if he wasn't watching then they would die. He would lose his mind if he lost his friends.

Inuyasha realized something this year, that the reason that he never let anyone get close to him was not because he was a half-demon, it was because he did not understand causal relationships.

If he was a friend than he would die trying to save them, he was not a person that loved someone only half way.

Inuyasha was all or nothing.

Nothing was easier since then you had nothing to lose.

But if you love someone all the way then in one second of neglect, fate can steal everything from you.

It was better not to have friends.

He prayed that he had the strength to protect them.

Silently, they had circled the castle. So far, the spell held. No one saw them. Finally, Myouga lead them to a door made of strong wood and full of magical carvings. The door was draped in green ivy.

This must be the sacred garden. Something was wrong with this place but Inuyasha could not put his finger on it.

Sango asked, "Why were there no guards standing nearby?"

That was it. Where were the guards? If this place was as special as Myouga had said than why was it not, protected? It made no sense.

He started to touch the strange door when Miroku raised his arm to block his way. Inuyasha cocked his head in an unspoken question.

"This door is enchanted." Miroku warned.

Inuyasha glanced at Miroku that was trying to decipher the symbols on the door.

"Priest?" Sango whispered. "Can you actually understand that?"

Miroku was silent as he read. They waited for him to speak. Hopefully, Miroku would understand this.

Either that or consequences be damned Inuyasha was going to blow down this door with no handle. Then cross his fingers that they could jump into the well before the army came.

They could not turn around. It was too late. There was no way that they could fight their way out of here if they were caught. The only reason that they had made it this far was because no one was looking. It he used his sword the noise would be loud that spell or no spell they would be caught.

Miroku frowned, "It says that only the Great Dog Demon shall pass."

"Now what do we do?" Inuyasha grumbled.

"Put Tessaiga against the door." Miroku suggested.

"That makes no sense, Miroku."

"Just do it."

Inuyasha pulled out Tessaiga. Nothing happened. The door did not move a single inch. Great.

He glared at Miroku menacingly. "You were wrong. Read it again."

Miroku sighed and ran his hand through his black hair. "I swear that is what it said. You have to use your sword. It is made from the Great Dog Demon's Fang. Next time keep it on the door for longer. You are too impatient."

This was so stupid. He felt like an idiot. But he had no other idea except to listen to this stupid idea. Although he wanted to lay his sword clean through this annoying door. The idea of destroying the door lightened his mood just a little bit.

Inuyasha frowned but he put the sword against the spell bound door. For a second, he held his breath as he waited.

His heart pounded as he tried not to think of the consequences of bringing his friends on a quest for a well that might not exist.

Then he felt the magic vibrate through him. Like a jolt. For a second he braced himself to be hit by the protection spell. It was stronger than he thought. He could feel it testing Tessaiga. It did not harm him.

Then just when he thought, it would not open. The door clicked and swung open.

"Quickly, my lord." Myouga insisted.

They went through the door and it shut behind them.

The garden was a paradise. They were all shocked at the beauty of the sacred garden. It was a magical place that was full of power. He could feel the enchantment of this place. It shook him with the force. Inuyasha shook his head to ignore the power and scanned the garden. His glazed over the water fountains and colorful flowers that he had never seen before in one place. Inuyasha was only looking for one thing. He did not see it. Panic started to rise in his chest. Frantically, he scanned the garden.

"Myouga, where is the well?" Shippo asked in a tiny voice what no one wanted to ask.

No response.

"Myouga?" Shippo repeated.

The flea had fled.


	30. Needing Momoko-Sama

**Ch 30: Needing Momoko-Sama **

_"And I can't find my way home," Five Finger Death_

* * *

Finally, after more battles Sesshoumaru and Kagome had found a safe cave to rest. Well- it became a safe cave after Sesshoumaru killed the former occupant. She had gotten mad at him for killing an innocent demon. But the almight Lord of Stuckupness, he had looked at her as if she was so stupid for protesting. He had asked her if they had met any innocent demons so far. Her mouth opened and shut.

She stomped into the cave. Stupid killing perfection. Killing everything without blinking. Her friends had never killed anyone just to find a place to sleep. Maybe lie but never kill. She glared at him but he ignored her as he sat near the entrance leaning against the wall.

Shivering, Kagome curled herself into a ball. She wished she had her sleeping bag. She tried to go to sleep. It had been a long and horrible day. However, she could not sleep a wink since she was so cold and stressed out. How did everything get so complicated? She was not even close to getting home. Yes, she had found Sesshoumaru but she also was trapped in a strange place.

It was all her fault. Maybe she should have trusted the younger Inuyasha. She shouldn't have run away. It had been wrong. She felt so guilty. Inuyasha had been so innocent and open. It was like a dream come true to have Inuyasha look at her that way. As if he loved her. She will cherish it forever because she knew that it would never happen again. Inuyasha and her were no destined to be together or they would have been born at the same time. Sometimes a girl has to just admit that her love is wrong.

Days like this Kagome regretted going into the past. But she knew that it was only in the past that she had found her confidence. Had found why she had always felt different. Had discovered her purpose. All the day that she had fell down the well and met a boy. Then no matter how bad that things were. He believed in her and even if she couldn't do it, he always saved her. The mystery of who she was had been unraveled. The Shikon Miko that did not recognize who she was.

Lost priestess living in the future. Living on a cracked foundation of the pieces of who she was. In a world that did not need her. In a world where she had no purpose. By knowing her past then all her missing pieces had come together. But her past was like a memory that she could not hold on to. A guardian that lost what was hers to protect and lost what was hers to love. Her heart left grabbing at memories of her past.

But right now her teeth were chattering. It was so cold. She blew warm air on her hands and thought about trying to blow warm air on the rest of her body. But she was not alone. She was stuck with an unyielding, judgmental ice prince with a great nose that might say her breath was not fit for his prissy nose.

It would be nice if he would look at her. Couldn't he see how cold that she was? Nope. Sessoumaru ignored her. Didn't he have bionic earing? Surely, he can hear her teeth chattering. She really wanted to take his fur. It looked to warm and nice while she was cold and miserable. Would it be wrong to ask him? Just because he had helped her so far did not mean that he would give her haori and his... furry... what was that...a tail... Well- whatever it was- it looked very warm.

"Priestess, will you find another place for your eyes except for my person." Sesshoumaru's voice was cold as ice.

Kagome blushed. "I am not staring at you." Did he get the wrong idea? She was not staring at him. Sure he was good looking, but looks were not everything.

"Hn"

"I am not staring at you. I am cold. Can't you see that I am cold?" she whined through chattering teeth.

He raised one perfect eyebrow. "It is not cold."

Her mouth dropped. "It is so too cold."

"Perhaps, it is your human weakness." He surmised.

Kagome narrowed her eyes. She bit back her angry retort. "May I please borrow your haori and furry thing?"

"Excuse me?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Please?" she begged and hated herself for having to. She was going to freeze to death or suffer the humiliation of begging the not so great Lord Sesshoumaru.

"Did you say furry thing?" He glowered at her but his face never moved. How come his eyes were so expressive but his face barely moved?

She leaned back unconsciously. "I'm sorry. I meant your fur. Can I borrow your fur to sleep?"

"It is called momoko-sama. It is a weapon not a blanket." Sesshoumaru's golden eyes flashed angrily.

Kagome stood up and bowed. "Please. I am very cold. I can not sleep. I am too cold."

For a moment Sesshoumaru did not speak. Before she could blink, he was in front of her then he flicked his wrist and momoko-sama wrapped around her waist and lifted her kicking and screaming into the air.

"Sesshoumaru!" Kagome screamed. "Let me down!"

He lifted her higher. "Hn"

"Okay! Sorry for disrespecting momoko-sama! I'm sorry just put me down!" Kagome pleaded.

He dropped her on the floor with momoko-sama and his haori on her head. What was that amusement in his eyes?

Normally, Kagome would complain but instead she wrapped herself and sighed as the warmth swept through her. "Thank you." She tried to sleep.

A few minutes later, Kagome could not sleep. "Sesshoumaru."

"Priestess, you said that you required warmth to sleep. Now you are warm. You should no longer be conscious."

Kagome sighed. "I'm trying to sleep but it is hard."

Sesshoumaru ignored her.

"I guess that means you are ignoring me." Kagome grumbled.

Kagome wrapped the haori tighter around herself. "I am just nervous. What if we can not escape this place? What if we can never go home?"

Sesshoumaru turned his head thoughtfully. "Did you not see me in the future?"

"Yes."

"Then I will escape this place."

Kagome sat up. "What about me?"

Sesshoumaru considered her question. "I am not from the future therefore I can not answer if you will escape this place or not."

Kagome silently counted to ten. "I thought you would not leave me behind. What happened to your so called honor."

"You are a fragile human that can easily be killed by the cold air. I on the other hand am very strong and would never be defeated by such an unworthy foe such as the weather. Now go to sleep since humans can also die from lack of sleep." Sesshoumaru smirked and Kagome was shocked and offended at the same time.

What if she died here in the past? Her heart pounded rapidly and her chest tightened. Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Mom, Grandpa, Souta. Would she see them again? She needed to see them again. She needed to go home. Tears fell down her cheeks. She pulled Sesshoumaru's haori tighter and wished that it was Inuyasha's.

"Tell me the name of the power coming from you? It is not a priestess power. It is not a demonic power. But it is calling out to every demon." Sesshoumaru demanded.

Kagome swallowed hard. She had the jewel shards. They were not supposed to be in this time. What if he tried to take it from her? This was not the same Sesshoumaru that she knew. He might want the jewel shards. But then again he had the right to know. They will get attacked more.

She pulled out the necklace around her neck. "These are jewel shards."

Before she could blink Sesshoumaru was in front of her again. She gasped. He needed to stop moving so fast before she had a heart attack. Then the necklace and jewels were in his hand. Her heart stopped. Sesshoumaru took the shards. She did not know what to do. What if he did not give them back? Did she have to kill him? Could she kill him? All her nerves kicked into overdrive.

Sesshoumaru turned the jewels over in his powerful claws. "Speak priestess. This is not a woman's jewel."

"That is shard's of the Shikon jewel. I am the Shikon priestess. It is my duty to protect it from demons and men." Kagome said quietly.

"Explain what is the Shikon jewel." He demanded.

She did not know where to start but maybe it was better to start at the beginning. She told him how the jewel had been created by a priestess but he did not give her name.

"Every demon wants the jewel because it makes them stronger. Even Inuyasha wants it. The problem is that the jewel also makes you lose your self-control. It makes you into someone else.

Sometimes even your appearance changes. You will not be the same but you will be more powerful. I try to tell Inuyasha that he shouldn't want to use the jewel but he had wanted it so long. The first day we met he tried to kill me to take the whole jewel from me. I ended shattering it into those shards. I wish I didn't but at least no one can get the whole jewel only fragments. So it ended up being okay. Maybe one day I can protect the whole jewel but I am not ready, yet. Besides I would have had to fight Inuyasha if I had not shattered it. He wants the whole jewel because when you have the whole jewel before you can make a wish. Inuyasha wants to wish to be a full demon like you. Strangely, you are the only demon that I met who did not try to steal the jewel."

Sesshoumaru sneered in disgust and put the jewels back into her hand. "I can see why weak demons and half-demons such as Inuyasha would covet such a toy. I will be the most powerful demon in the world. I have no need for artificial tricks. I will become the strongest on my own will."

With that, he went back to sit by himself in the front and Kagome finally released the breath that she had been holding.


	31. Sesshoumaru's Shadow

**Chapter 31: Sesshoumaru's Shadow**

_"They say that life would be its hardest in your teenage years,"Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Salvation Lyrics_

* * *

Kagome felt like Jaken.

She tried her best to walk beside the great demon lord, but he would always walk faster than her. Kagome would run than he was ahead of her. Kagome gave up trying to keep up with him. If he did not want to walk next to her than she did not care. But she resented that she had become Sesshoumaru's shadow.

Pompous jerk.

How could he lead her when he did not know where they were going? How could he?

Who died and made him the leader? You can't be a leader if you have no plan. Kagome hated this. She was used to always being the one that told everyone where they were going. But this time there were no jewel shards to find so she was forced to let Sesshoumaru be the leader.

She was getting sick and tired of his attitude. Pretending that he knew what he was doing.

He had never been here either. This was an artificial world. They were trapped. Kagome kept looking for an exit but everywhere they passed was under this dark sky. They did not have any information. All they knew was that this is where Lord Usui was trapping the demons.

They walked for hours in the early mornings. No one attacked them nor did they run into anyone. This world looked so strange. The sky was still dark even though it was morning.

It was hard to see and Kagome keep stumbling and tripping Her hands were full of scratches.

Kagome was glad that they did not get attacked but she was miserable. For the tenth, time she wished Inuyasha was here. She was not used to walking long distances. Inuyasha always carried her. She was sure that her foot would become blistered. Her stomach was cramping from lack of food. Her throat was dry from lack of water.

"Sesshoumaru, where are we going?" Kagome asked for the tenth time.

Again, he ignored her. What a jerk! Just because he never got tired doesn't mean that other people didn't.

"Lord Sesshoumaru." she said in the most sugary tone. "Can we please stop? It has been hours and I need to rest and eat."

He ignored her and kept walking.

After another hour, Kagome ached all over.

She was breathing hard and actually to her horror, sweating. While Sesshoumaru was still fresh. Even his silver hair was clean and free of tangles while Kagome's hair was matted against her sweaty scalp.

Kagome had enough. She stopped walking and put her hands on her shaking knees to keep from falling.

"Seshoumaru!" She tried to scream angrily but it came out like a hiss.

Finally, he turned to look at her with a bored expression on his perfect face. "Priestess."

"I'm tired." Why did she feel more tired when she stopped? It was hard to catch her breath.

He turned his head to the left and did not speak for a moment. "Priestess, even for a human, you are very weak."

Kagome's anger exploded because she was too tired. It takes energy to be happy.

"I am not weak!" She shouted after she caught her breath. "I walked for hours with no food or water!"

Sesshoumaru smirked, as it was so obvious. "Priestess, you are weak."

"I am unsure why the half breed chose you as a mate."

Kagome's heart cracked and it hurt. "What are you trying to say?"

"I did not try to say anything. I spoke." He taunted her.

Kagome decided that it was not worth it. She could not travel with Sesshoumaru. He was too cold. She would find her own way back home. Without another word, Kagome walked away.

Kagome did not get far at all before before Sesshoumaru caught her. He held her by the throat and pushed her against a tree.

His eyes were dark and wild. "Stupid girl. Are you trying to be killed?"

Kagome's legs felt weak. "I'm sorry. I just am tired and I need to rest."

Sesshoumaru released her. "There is a spring in that direction."

When Kagome had finished bathing, she felt halfway better. Luckily, her book bag was waterproof so she had an extra pair of clothes.

She stomped in the direction of Sesshoumaru's aura. To her shock, he had cooked food.

Her stomach growled as she smelled the meat. "What is that?"

"I would not ask too many questions." He warned.

Gross. What was that? Was there any animals in this strange place? It was a prison. There was no meat except for... Disgusting. It had to be a demon. How could she eat a demon? Her face turned green.

"Priestess, I thought your growling stomach was an indication of your hunger."

He was leaning against a tree and opened his eyes.

"Why are you being so hard on me? I can't keep up this kind of pace." She needed him to understand.

"I am not being hard on you." He closed his eyes again.

Kagome sat up straight and put her hands on her lap. "I can't walk for this many hours without a break."

Sesshoumaru open his golden eyes. "Priestess, you are weak." he taunted her.

Kagome put up her chin. "I am not weak."

"You are weak physically. You have no discipline or endurance. It is obvious that you are as spoiled as a woman in the court. Are all women in the future as weak and spoiled as you? " Sesshoumaru asked.

Kagome shook her head. "That is not what I meant. I am not spoiled."

Sesshoumaru raised one eyebrow. "Hn"

Kagome smiled. "Exactly. You do understand."

"Weakness should not change just because of the time. Weakness is weakness."

Kagome sighed. "But in the future, getting the things you need to live are easier. I am an average girl. I am not spoiled or special."

"So in the future standards since you are average then you considered averagely weak." Sesshoumaru stated.

Kagome's face turned bright red. "You don't understand anything."

"Hn"

She was not spoiled. She had eyes and ears. Her best friends had all suffered horrible childhoods, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Inuyasha. They had all suffered.

"I know that the feudal era is hard. And my friends had many struggles. But that does not make me spoiled." She said. "My life is not perfect. I was there the day that my father died! I was just a kid. I could not do anything. It was a car accident. Then my mother struggled after my father died to find work to to feed me and my brother. I remember what it is like to be hungry. In the future you don't need to hunt to get food but you must get money. Money is strength in the future. We struggled until my grandfather decided to take us in. He was the one that saved us from becoming homeless when my mother had lost her job. He doesn't make a lot of money from the shrine but it is enough for us and my mother only has to help him take care of the shrine. We each have our struggles. No one has a perfect life."

"Even if you do not have a perfect life. It is no excuse for weakness. You must learn to carry on." Sesshoumaru said.

"I know." Kagome smile wistfully. "No matter what happens. I am so used to bad luck and misfortune that it does not surprise me. Inuyasha always complains that I attract trouble. I always did. In the modern era, I always attracted the worst sort of people. Thieves, stalkers, and bullies. That is why even my friends there always worry about me. Trouble always finds me. I am very unlucky. I'm surprised that my heart is pure and that I can purify the jewel."

Sesshoumaru watched her for a moment before saying. "Misfortune has not tainted you because your persistent stubbornness has protected you."

Kagome laughed. "Probably."

Sesshoumaru stood up as if he was a king. "We must continue. Regardless of the fact that the future does not require physical strength, is of no matter. You are here. Weakness is not acceptable. No more complaining. We will not stop for 4 hours. You will walk without your incessant whining."

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "4 hours. Are you crazy?"

He had already walked away with his irritated shadow trailing behind him.


	32. Miroku's Magic

**Chapter 32: Miroku's Magic**

_"We follow like Alice." Egypt Central, White Rabbit_

* * *

The garden was beautiful. It was full of so many flowers that Rin would have loved to play here. It was so silent as they waited for Miroku that was preparing for the spell. He had covered the well in ofuda's and deep in his meditations. Everyone watched him. Shippo did not even speak. Sango was so nervous. Kilala tried to comfort her. Inuyasha was angry.

Miroku did not start the spell right away and that made Inuyasha more edgy as they waited. Inuyasha wanted to go right away and did not understand what was taking so long. Every one second felt like one hundred seconds. He was surprised that they had not been attacked, yet.

Finally, Shippo spoke up. "Miroku? What's taking so long?"

Miroku opened his blue eyes. "I'm afraid that when I try to locate Lady Kagome that I can't see her. However, I can see the different time periods but not her. It is quite unfortunate."

Everyone froze at Miroku's unclear words.

Inuyasha's jaw clenched. "Explain."

"Well-" Miroku cleared his throat nervously. "I can open the well, but I have no way of knowing where Kagome is. I can only predict what time that the well will take us to." He confessed in front of his friends...

Inuyasha's claws were trembling. "What." He hissed.

Sango's body became rigid with tension. "Are you saying that you do not know what time that Kagome is in? Then how are we going to find her?"

Miroku pushed back his black hair from his eyes. "There is no way to tell. I can see the different time periods but I do not see her. I looked. We can go through, but I have no way of knowing exactly where to start looking for her."

"So how are we supposed to find Kagome?" Shippo asked.

Inuyasha's anger increased. He was so close to throttling the monk. He should have known that Miroku could not pull off this spell.

Sango shook her head. "How could this even work? How will we find her without knowing which time period? What if we go to wrong one?"

"I understand all the problems but we need to trust in destiny. We will be reunited with Lady Kagome." Miroku said with assurance in his voice.

"How!" Sango snapped. "Are we going to search every year until we find her? Either she will be dead or we will be."

"We will never find her!" Shippo wailed.

"We do not have any choice." Miroku said defenselessly. "It is better if we look for her instead of waiting for the perfect spell. We already waited long enough."

Sango clenched her fist. "But we will waste time if we are looking for her in the wrong era."

Shippo jumped onto Sango's shoulder. "Miroku, don't you have a better idea?" Shippo wanted to find Kagome yesterday. He did not want to waste any time.

Miroku shook his head. "This is the only way." He insisted trying to make them understand.

Sango crossed her arms. "There has to be a better way." She did not agree with this idea at all. It was too uncertain. Anything could go wrong.

"I wish there was." Miroku said looking her right in the eye. Trying to make her see that it was the truth.

"I don't think that it is a good idea." Sango glared at him.

Miroku raised his hand half way. "We have to try. The longer that we wait then the longer that it will take to find Lady Kagome. It is better if we take a chance. We can go through the well then once we are there; it will be easier to know if she is there. Lady Kagome could not have wandered away that far from the well. If we get there, we have a better chance to find her. I can reopen the well if we are in the wrong time. But we have waited long enough for her to return on her own. We have to go get her. We just have to jump and trust in Buddha"

"Let's go." Shippo said with tears in his eyes. "I want to find Kagome. I don't care if Miroku's idea is stupid. What if it works? I miss her so much. I know that I can find her. I have a great nose. I can always find Kagome. Please let's go. I want to see her. Sango?"

Sango smiled and smoothed his hair to reassure him. "I want to find Kagome too. Monk, you better know what you are doing or I will kill you."

Honestly, Inuyasha did not like the idea either. But there was no better idea. He was determined to find her. And he never expected this to be easy since life was never easy on him. However, it did not matter how hard things got, Inuyasha was stubborn and he learned that if he just tries that he could force things to work out. He would get to Kagome no matter what.

Inuyasha glared at Miroku. "Hurry up and do the spell."

Miroku was exhausted from holding up the barrier spell. He was not used to holding a spell for so long then now he would have to cast another spell. It was only the fear and adrenaline that kept him on his feet as he cast the powerful spell pulling on his power reserves.

Shippo and Inuyasha stepped back from the power surge coming from the priest.

Soon the magic of the spell was activated.

One by one, they jumped in and slipped through time.

Once they climbed out of the well. They were surprised to see that the Western Palace was in ruins around their feet.

Shippo wrinkled his nose. "What is that smell? It is so nasty." All of Shippo's senses were getting assaulted. His nose and ears especially. It was almost as bad as Naraku's miasma.

Inuyasha grimaced. "Welcome to the future."

Miroku grinned as he brushed a sweat drop. "It really worked."

Inuyasha hit him. "Shippo? Can you make an illusion to disguise us? In the future, there are no demons. At least not in the open. Can you make us look like like humans and Kilala like a cat?"

Shippo nodded. He concentrated. He made Inuyasha look like it was his human night. He made Kilala look like an ordinary cat. He hide his own ears, tail and turned his paws into human hands and feet.

They walked onto the street.

Sango did not know what to think. Everything looked so foreign and strange. Kagome had described the future to her before but she had never imagined anything close to this. Were those fast things what Kagome called kars? So many girls were wearing clothes just like Kagome.

Miroku's eyes could not get any bigger as he saw all the women wearing shorts and skirts. Did he die? This surely must be heaven. This could not be real. A woman on shoes with wheels flew by them wearing shorts. Miroku was shocked and fascinated at the same time. Then the woman on the rolling shoes looked directly at him and smiled. Miroku was staring so hard that he didn't see Sango's fist until it was too late. He did not mean to stare but he really appreciated a woman's beauty.

Everyone except Inuyasha was awed by the smelly future. Inuyasha was not impressed since he came to the future many times. However, he was confused by the strange hair and clothing. Some people had big hairstyles.

This time was different from the one that the one Inuyasha usually came too. Where were they? It was not the time that he usually came to. But his plan was to go to Kagome's family shrine even if this was not her time; he knew that she would go there since it was familiar. He hoped. Inuyasha couldn't wait to see her. The first thing that he would do is hold Kagome in his arms and breathe in her sweet scent. He would never let her out of his sight ever again.

"Everyone stay close to me." Inuyasha commanded.

Sango, Shippo, and Kilala were right behind him.

Miroku stumbled for a moment. He tried to catch his breath as his strength failed him. The magic had taken much of his energy. But he needed to ignore it because he had to help his friends. His blue eyes turned to steel as his back straightened. He caught up to his friends as if nothing was wrong


	33. The Storm

**Chapter 33: The Storm**

"_I'm so sick of me, being sick of you, And the way you look, all the things you do." Adelita's Way. Sick_

* * *

Kagome's training did not go as expected. But in hindsight, demon lords are probably not the best teachers for young priestesses.

"Priestess," Sesshoumaru held her arm with an iron grip that Kagome could never dream of getting out of on pure strength. "You are not finished meditating."

Kagome refused to listen to Sessshoumaru. Her mind had shut down and currently blocking one certain annoying demon. "I'm finished. Let me go." She was so angry with him and until she calmed down, she needed to get away from him. Why couldn't he understand? Why did everything have to be his way? After walking for hours and not finding a way to escape, Sesshouaru decided that Kagome needed to train. She was so tired that she could not concentrate. Too stressed. She wanted to go home. Was that too much to ask?

"Priestess, if you do not learn to control your powers than your powers will one day control you." Sesshoumaru growled threateningly.

"I am not a demon so that will never happen to me in case you haven't noticed, I am human." Kagome said, raising her voice with every word.

He raised one perfect eyebrow. "You are more than a human. Humans do not have powers. Power that will consume you one day or you will hurt the ones around you."

She blinked. She could never imagine losing control of her powers. It would not happen. He was just trying to scare her so he could continue to bully her. Kagome was tired of his harsh teaching methods, so she was quitting Sesshoumaru 101.

Kagome frowned. "I would never become like that now let me go."

Releasing her, he gave her a withering look. "Priestess, do not forget that this is not your home. Do not wander too far away or you may never return."

Kagome stomped away from him in anger. She was so sick of Sesshomuaru. He claimed to be teaching her but all he did was criticize her. Priestess, you are not sitting correctly. Priestess, you are not breathing correctly. Priestess, you are not containing your powers. Blah...blah...blah... He was so bossy and annoying. She could not stand him. There was no one more annoying than Lord Sesshoumaru. He thought that his every thought and action was perfect. Of course, she knew that he was probably as stress out as she was. Maybe even more stressed out and too proud to admit it. He did not want to be stuck here with her either. She had been so sure that she would not affect Sesshoumaru's life. Had been more worried about Inuyasha's future and did not think of Sesshoumaru's future for even a second. Instead, she was a walking disaster that managed to get everyone around her in trouble. She was such an unlucky girl.

Suddenly, Kagome had a bad feeling.

Something felt wrong. It was getting too windy. Her heart started pounding. Maybe she needed to turn around and find Sesshoumaru. Yes, that was a good idea.

However, it was a thought that came too late.

Kagome was ripped from the ground.

She grasped desperately to the air. What was happening? "Sesshoumaru!" She screamed in desperation.

It happened so fast that Kagome could not register it. Then there was nothing to hold onto to. Already, she was 30 feet in the air and terrified. The dark sky was open and crackling as the storm tore through everything. Trees and rocks flew all around her. A few rocks hit her. She was up too high. She was going to fall down any second.

"Sesshoumaru!" she screamed again.

She never thought that she would beg him. But she had no one else.

"Sesshoumaru!" she screamed in desperation.

Where was he? She could not see him.

Where was she? The air was pulling her higher and higher. It would not let her go. It yanked and threw her as if she were a toy.

Then she saw him.

"Sesshoumaru!"

He was not going to make it. This storm was too strong. It was pushing him back. His eyes fixed on her as he pushed through the storm. She could see his demonic aura grow as he forced his way into the storm.

Sesshoumaru was not going to make it to her. For every step he made, she was pulled further away.

Kagome's fearful eyes met his determined golden eyes. She tried to be calm. If this was it. She would not cry. Not in front of him. He looked upset enough as it was. She never thought that Sesshoumaru could make that face. Especially not while she was looking at her.

Everything hurt. It was so fast like a roller coaster. Understanding hit her while she was a hostage of the wind. It was familiar. She knew this wind. It was like the one that Miroku controlled. Was this the other side of the wind tunnel? Is this the prison for demons? She forgot about the wind that had dragged them into this place in the first place. She would have laughed if she could of. She had always wondered what was on the other side of the wind tunnel. Now she wished that she never knew. The demon prison was the wind tunnel. There had never been any hope of them escaping. Nothing ever came out of the wind tunnel. It was a one-way trip. They had been trapped from the beginning.

It seemed so slow. His hand so far away. She could not reach him. It was too hard.

Sesshoumaru pushed forward and yanked her into his arms.

Kagome choked from the shock and disbelief. The storm howled violently.

Kagome clung to him so tightly. He pushed them through the possessive storm. Somehow managing not to get hit by all the debris. The wind only pulled them harder. Sesshomaru's movements were so slow and laborious. It was too much. He fought against the unnatural winds to get away from the storm that seemed to cover everything.

Finally, they made it through to a safe place. He dropped to the ground and leaned against a tree. He did not release Kagome as she trembled again him and she forgot to ask him to let her go.

It was only after the shock wore off and she put herself together that she looked up into his golden eyes that she realized that she was in his lap.

Kagome jumped out of his arms in deep embarrassment.

"Now that you have calmed your hysterical emotions, let us find a place to rest tonight, and a place to wash the stench of you from me." He gracefully stood up, long silver hair tossed side to side and he walked past her without a second glance.

Kagome froze, flinched and then trailed behind him with her face flaming red. She was so sick of him. The demon lord of annoyance had to be proof that she had no luck at all. Her life was a series of unfortunate events.


	34. Convenience

**34\. Convenience**

_"Let you Down," Three Days Grace_

* * *

Kagome clutched the soft and fuzzy momoko-sama as she tried to sleep after she harassed Sesshoumaru until he gave up his haori. She had turned away from Sesshouaru. Stupid idiot. Why does he have to be so selfish? He knows that she is cold. She wished Inuyasha was here. Inuyasha would give her his haori without her even asking and he would not push her this hard. She decided that Sesshoumaru was not a demon lord but war lord. Then he always made fun of her. She always imagined that Sesshoumaru had good manners that he was a gentleman but he was not at all. No wonder that he had no girlfriend or wife. He was so annoying.

"Priestess, why are still awake? If your weak body does not sleep then you will waste my day tomorrow with your unnecessary breaks. I will not tolerate your incessant whining tomorrow." Sesshoumaru said in his condescending voice.

Kagome ignore him and pretended to sleep. Stupid Sesshoumaru. Always bossing her around.

Why did she feel so uncomfortable suddenly? She opened her eyes. Sesshoumaru's face was right in front of her.

"Ahhhhh!" she screamed as she moved away quickly in shock.

Then Sesshoumaru laughed and Kagome screamed again.

She narrowed her eyes as she tried to find her dignity. "I was sleeping."

He smirked. "You lie, priestess. You were not sleeping. Now go to sleep."

Stupid Sesshoumaru.

If only Inuyasha was here, he would never treat her like this. She went to sleep missing Inuyasha and her heart hurt. What if she never saw him again? She never had to think about that since if she wanted to see Inuyasha, she only had to jump down the well. Now that was not an option. She blinked back tears. She wondered what Inuyasha was doing.

"Priestess..." He warned.

Kagome wiped her tears. "I'm sleeping."

"Priestess, cease this behavior. This Sesshoumaru swears that he will return you to the future time that you is no reason for tears."

Kagome sat up in shock and stared at Sesshoumaru. Was he actually being civilized? Maybe he wasn't that evil? She did not know what to say except for one thing. "Thank you."

* * *

In the meantime, the younger Inuyasha was have the worst week ever. He was in a cell at the bottom of Lord Usui's castle. His legs and hands were chained with an enchanted iron that sealed his powers. He had cuts and bruises all over his body. His white hair had been hacked off. Even his fire rat robe taken away. He could not heal himself no matter how hard he tried. Lord Usui came downstairs every day to watch him as he was tortured by his creative employees.

Last week, he had been out looking for that girl. The one that haunts his dreams. Inuyasha did not know if she was real but he wanted her to be. Maybe she was only a creation of his imagination but he could not help but hope that she was more than that. The only problem was that he could never remember exactly how she looked like. Only bits and pieces. But the dreams would not stop. So either he was crazy, under a spell, or she was real. That wish had made him wander too close to a group of humans. He knew that he needed to stay away from them, but he could not help but look. Now he was paying for his mistake.

Today, his jailers had come to bring him to Lord Usui. Inuyasha was in so much pain but he refused to show it. He stood straight and followed the guards. They took him outside. A crowd was waiting.

Inuyasha was forced to kneel in front of Lord Usui.

Lord Usui gestured at the crowd. "Look at the heir the West. See how weak he is. We are forced to suffer under the laws of the dog demons. For centuries they have ruled over us. How long do we humans need to cower in fear from demons? Isn't it time to humans to stand up? Why do need to fear monsters like this one? The son of a demon and a whore."

The crowd booed.

Lord Usui sneered at Inuyasha. "Where is your older brother? Is he going to come here and destroy us to defend you? No, Lord Sesshoumaru's days of rule have come to end. He is my prisoner. He is in a place that he will never escape."

The crowd gasped and started whispering.

Inuyasha raised his head and spit blood. "First of all, how many times do I have tell you that Sesshoumaru is only my half-brother. Second of all, I am not the heir of anything. Third, you humans are pretty stupid if you think that you can keep that bastard as a prisoner. He will eat you alive the second he gets a chance."

Lord Usui smiled. "Former Lord Inuyasha, you are not fooling anyone. We all know exactly who you are. We have finally rid of you and that brother of yours. That monster has lost his fangs. He is unable to harm any human every again. We are free from the dog demon clan. Now, I, Usui, am the new Lord of the West."

The crowd cheered and chanted.

"How convenient that Inuyasha carries the blood of a mortal? It is so much easier to control you. " Lord Usui said. "Prepare the half-breed for his punishment. I want him whipped 100 times."

The crowd cheered.

Inuyasha was dragged to the front of the crowd. His chains were locked into a pole. The guard grinned maliciously as he raise the whip.

Crack.

Inuyasha hated humans. Although he did not like admitting it since his mother was human he loved her.

Crack.

The blood ran down his back. Yes, he really hated humans. And he hated Sesshoumaru for always managing to ruin his life even when he was not around.

He tried to think of the girl that haunted his dreams. He ignored the pain and the blood. His dreams of her was the only thing that kept him from breaking.

100 lashes later, Inuyasha was unconscious and been thrown back into the dungeon like discarded trash.


	35. The Higurashi Shrine

**Chapter 35: The Higurashi Shrine**

_"Conclusions manifest, your first impression's, Got to be your very best, " Trapt, Headstrong_

* * *

Inuyasha's first plan was to go to the Higurashi Shrine to see if Kagome went there. Even if it was a different time, it was still her home. She would go there if she were here.

However, things turned bad very quickly at the Higurashi Shine.

A teenage boy that Inuyasha had never seen had holding sutras and threatening to purify them.

The teenager was powerful. His aura sizzled with spiritual powers. Powers that were controlled and honed from years of training. Who was this guy? Inuyasha knew that he should back down but he was never good at getting past his pride.

"You little punk! Where is Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted.

Inuyasha and the teenager were staring each other down. Tired of this unhelpful and arrogant brat. Plus the fact that he smelled too much like Kagome was making Inuyasha's jealousy grow with each passing second.

The teenager's dark brown eyes glared at him in defiance. "Demons. If you do not leave my shrine I will be forced to purify you."

Inuyasha was getting impatient.

"If you don't move out of my way that I will be forced to throw you out of the way." Inuyasha threatened.

"Throw me! Grandpa, don't make me laugh! "The teenager smirked.

Inuyasha blinked. Did he just call him...?

Shippo snickered. "He called you grandpa."

"Demons are all old. Your human disguises don't fool me." The teenager jeered.

Inuyasha grabbed Shippo by his collar. "How did you make me look?"

Shippo started to sweat as he tried to escape Inuyasha's firm grasp. "You like you do on your human night. I swear."

Miroku touched Inuyasha`s shoulder. "Let me try."

Inuyasha grumbled under his breath and dropped a shaking Shippo to the ground.

Miroku stepped forward. He made his blue eyes as innocent as possible and voice as smooth as he could.

"My name is Miroku. What my friend is trying to say is that we came to see Lady Kagome. Would she be available?"

The teenager crossed his arms too. "Get off my property. I am not going to let you hurt my family."

"We are not here to hurt your family." Miroku said trying to reassure him.

Shigure looked past Miroku at Sango. He looked her in the brown eyes for a moment. "Did you need help? Did these crazy people kidnap you?"

Sango smiled and covered her mouth to hold back laughter.

"Sango is not a hostage." Miroku frowned.

Shigure bowed. "I will rescue you from these demons and this false priest that betrayed his oaths by helping demons."

Sango started to speak but then Inuyasha cut her off.

"Okay that's it; I'm going to kill him." Inuyasha's fist shook.

The teenager laughed. "By the way. My name is Shigure. They say that everyone wants to know who kills them." Then he created a spiritual ball of blue energy and threw it at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha dodged it. "Are you crazy? Why did you throw that at me?"

Inuyasha leaped forward determined to teach that brat a lesson. But Shigure was fast. It was as if he tapped into his spiritual energies to give him an inhuman grace. He flipped into the air, soaring into a back flip, and landed on the other side of the yard.

Shigure grinned. "Wow! You are so slow old man."

"Brat!" Inuyasha did not want to hurt him, even if he smelled oddly like Kagome. He wanted to find Kagome, but right now he still wanted to teach this brat a lesson.

Again, Inuyasha tried to grab Shigure, but Shigure was fast. Again, he evaded him.

"Damn!" Inuyasha cursed, he was getting mad.

The shrine door opened. "What is going here?"

Inuyasha was never so happy to see Kagome's grandfather even if he did look younger than the last time that he saw him.

"Grandpa Higurashi, I came to get your granddaughter Kagome." Inuyasha blurted out quickly.

The man stared at him in confusion. "I think that you must be mistaken. I have no granddaughter."

Inuyasha sat down on the ground in shock. They were in the wrong time. No wonder the humans dress and cars looked different. Of course, he would not know him. According to him, they had never met.

Higurashi turned to the teenager. "Son, do not be rude to our guests. Invite them in."

The teenager bowed slightly. "You may come in, but I warn you that if you try anything, I will get rid of you, permanently."

Shigure stood marched into the shrine, stood at the entrance, and glared at them suspiciously, as everyone walked inside.

Higurashi had demanded that they drop their disguises to see their true faces. Shippo reluctantly dropped his, Inuyasha, and Kilala's disguises and to their surprise the man looked delighted.

Miroku decided that he would talk instead of Inuyasha. Luckily, Inuyasha was too busy glaring at Shigure. So Miroku spun a half-way clean semi-true version of the story about who they were and why they were looking for Kagome.

"I have no granddaughter named Kagome."

"So, it seems that we are in the wrong time." Miroku said as he finished the story.

Higurashi put down his cup of tea. "What an incredible story. It makes me proud to hear that one day I will have a powerful granddaughter like Lady Kagome."

Miroku nodded. "We are all proud of Lady Kagome. She is our only hope to stop the greatest evil in our time. We must find her quickly. Perhaps your talented son can help us find her."

Higurashi exchanged a glance with Shigure that looked bewildered. "It seems that my only son is overwhelmed by hearing about the fate of his future daughter."

Inuyasha stared at him in shock. This punk was going to be Kagome's father? No way. He was nothing like Kagome's mother that was calm and sweet. Shigure was so stubborn and hot-tempered. Then again. Shigure was a lot like Kagome. Plus, he had spiritual powers. No wonder he smelled so much like her. Father and daughter. He groaned. Damn. Kagome was going to "sit" him for attacking her father.

Shippo's green eyes were wide. "This is Kagome's father?"

Angrily, Shigure stood up. "Why would I want to help you? Even if you people were telling the truth, why would I let my daughter go with you? I swear when she is born, I will lock her in the house. No daughter of mine will go anywhere with treacherous demons. Especially not with that freak." He pointed at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha jumped up. "Look here you little punk. You can't keep Kagome from me! She is mine!"

"I knew it!" Shigure sneered. "Never. I swear, I will never let her near you. It is better, that she is lost then with you. I will not help you find her."

Then Shigure stormed out of the living room, and they could hear his bedroom door slam shut.


	36. The Powerful Teenage Priest

**Chapter 36: The Powerful Teenage Priest**

* * *

Sango was given the guest room, which was Kagome's future room. Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippo had to sleep in the living room. Miroku and Shippo were fast asleep while Inuyasha was still brooding. He was upset that the well did not take them immediately to Kagome. This was all Miroku's fault. He glared at the sleeping monk. Not to mention that brat Shigure. Inuyasha could not believe that that brat was Kagome's father.

He did not like him. How could not want to help his own daughter? Even if had never had a daughter, yet it was still wrong. If Inuyasha ever heard that his future child needed his help then he would go rescue them. Shigure was a selfish brat. They did not need his help. Inuyasha had already decided that tomorrow he was going to beat up Miroku until he came up with a better plan. They did not need Shigure.

Inuyasha heard a noise. Shigure was leaving. Inuyasha could smell him. Where did he think that he was sneaking off too? Inuyasha was going to drag him back home, right now.

Silently, Inuyasha followed Shigure into the night.

Where was Shigure going? Why was he carrying a concealed sword? What was he up to? Inuyasha decided to follow him.

Inuyasha watched as Shigure walked through the streets from far away. It did not look like Shigure was in any hurry or that he was doing anything. After an hour, Inuyasha was getting bored. Then he saw something that he thought he would never see.

Two half demons attacking Shigure. Demons or rather half-demons in the future. Inuyasha was not surprised since he had fought against demons in the future before. He never understood why Kagome says that demons don't exist in the future especially when it was Lady Centipede had been the demon that dragged her into the future in the first place.

Inuyasha did not intervene while he watched from the roof. He watched as Shigure infused his sword with his powers and attacked. Inuyasha was impressed. This kid was well-trained in spiritual and martial arts.

Then another demon arrived. It must be a quarter blooded. This one attacked Shigure as well. Where did he come from? It was like he appeared out of thin air.

Another half- demon was behind Shigure but he did not see it. Inuyasha could already see that this was not going to end well. Quickly, he leaped down and pulled the half-demon away from Shigure, throwing him against the wall.

Shigure turned to look at him in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your worthless ass." Inuyasha growled as he killed the half-demon. He wished that he could use the wind scar but Kagome had warned him that he might kill many innocent people if he accidentally blew up a building.

"I don't need your help." Shigure snapped.

Inuyasha smirked. "Sure. kid."

"Go away, demon." Shigure gripped his sword tight.

A portal opened and more of the mixed blooded demons poured out.

Inuyasha's mouth fell open. "What is that?"

Shigure and Inuyasha stood back to back as they were surrounded.

Shigure looked over his shoulder. "Idiot. Why are you asking me? You should already know. That is where demons come from."

Inuyasha grabbed Shigure and leaped to the top of the building and the mixed blooded demons followed them.

Shigure yanked his arm away from Inuyasha. "Are you crazy! What did you do that for!"

"I needed fresh air. These guys stink." Then Inuyasha raised his sword. "Now which one of you losers want to die first."

One of the half-demons stepped forward. "Why are you defending a human?" He asked in disgust.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Kurosaki. Brother, our fight is not with you. We only want to kill the priest."

Shigure crossed his arms. "You can try."

Inuyasha shook his head. "As much as I hate this bratty human, I can't let you kill him."

Kurosaki raised his eyebrow. "We can not allow any human with spiritual powers to live. They are our sworn enemies. You must understand that. We will never have our lives back if we don't destroy them. They are the only ones that can see through our illusion spell. Do you know how many of us were taken by the human government to experiment on? Who do you think told the other humans what we really are? Already we were forced into hiding from the world that is rightfully ours but to also be subjected to the tortures of human science... We must kill every spy."

Inuyasha had started drifting off. He was sleepy. This was boring.

"Are you even listening!" Kurosaki shouted.

Inuyasha blinked. "Are you finished yapping about your problems? Look I had a long day. I don't give a damn about your issues. I am not letting you kill this brat."

"I see you made your choice." Kurosaki pointed at them. "Kill the priest and the traitor."

Inuyasha gave a glance to Shigure as he raised his sword. "Hey, brat are you ready?"

Shigure infused his sword with his powers. "I already said I don't need your help."

Inuyasha easily fought these punks. They could not compete against all his experience and strength. But he was surprised that Shigure could hold his own. Maybe the kid was not that terrible. Soon only three of their opponents were left.

The the portal opened again. Kurosaki stood next to it. "I believe it is time to go. We will kill them another day."

Kurosaki motioned for the rest of his companions and they stepped into the portal leaving them behind.

Shigure threw purification ball of energy at Inuyasha causing Inuyasha to lose his demonic powers, "I didn't need your help, Demon." Then he ran away.

"Brat! I am going to beat the crap out of you."

It was going to take a long time to get back to the shrine as a human.


	37. Once a Lord

**Chapter 37: Once a Lord**

"_I rely on myself, just making sure that was clear." A Day to Remember, This the House that Doubt Built_

* * *

According to the priestess, this was a wind tunnel.

She swore to him that she had seen the wind tunnel in the future that her friend, a priest had one on his hand. She said that she had never seen a demon escape once they entered the wind tunnel. Sesshoumaru had not smelled a lie on her. However, the possibility that priests would have wind tunnels on their hands was startling.

Kagome had said that she doubted that they could escape.

That had almost made him laugh. Clearly, she was naive if she thought that they were trapped in here just because other demons had failed to escape. What did that have to do with him? They were probably weak that is why they could not escape from a mere priest.

He needed to think of a plan.

Sesshoumaru had yet to find an exit from this wind tunnel. Every few days the wind tunnel would open and more demons would appear here.

There was the option of flying out of here, but he was not sure that he could manage that escape. The winds were too fast even for him. The wind tunnel only stayed open for a few minutes at a time.

If he was alone than he would risk it.

However, he did not think that Kagome would survive that journey.

She would be killed by the pressure therefore that was not an option. He could leave her behind but he might not be able to come back in to get her.

"How long are you going to ignore me?" Kagome asked. "First you make me tell you everything that I know. Then you ignore me for two hours. I thought we were trying to figure this out together."

Sesshoumaru gave her a blank stare. "Are you suggesting that I need your counsel?"

"We are supposed to work together." She frowned.

He ignored her because he knew that it irritated her. It was easy to tease her.

"Sesshoumaru, you need to work on being nicer." Kagome whined.

Nice?

Why would ever want to be nice? No one respects someone that smiles easily and gives all their secrets. Regardless if they are demons or humans. Everyone respected strength. Those that craved being liked were weak seeking to get protection from those that are strong. Sesshoumaru was not weak therefore he had no need to please.

"You need to work on concealing your niceness." He said with disgust in his voice.

Her mouth dropped. "Why would I have to do that?"

He raised his eyebrow but did not answer. It was too obvious that he refused to explain. Kagome was entirely too trusting and naive. Her bleeding heart was open for anyone to take.

He did not like it. How could his brother allow her to become lost? He was such a fool.

If Kagome had not found him then surely she would be dead ten times over by know. She would not even die in an honorable way. Someone would easily trick her, rape her, and steal her powers, soul, then kill her.

It was ridiculous how trusting that she was. She had confessed so many secrets to him. He knew all about her love of his bastard of a brother, her conflicts with her education and the feudal era, and her fears of the future. He was surprised that she had told him so many secrets. He wondered if she always trusted so easily.

He had also found himself telling her about his family and obligations. Things that he had never talking to anyone about, yet somehow in the middle of the night when Kagome could not sleep, she would ask him questions about his life, and to his horror he would answer. Usually he would never answer such personal questions some of questions deserved swift punishment, but instead of punishing her, he would answer her.

An insect demon leaped in the air to attack Kagome.

She screamed in horror and to his horror. "Sesshoumaru!"

Without even looking, Sesshoumaru's whip sliced in half. How could she even have that much confidence to shout his name for all the world to hear? As if he were her pet that would come running.

Absolutely ridiculous.

How dare she rely on him? Rescuing humans. What had happened to his life? It was all the priestess's fault. He should allow her to be eaten than he would be free of her. It was better than hearing her screech his name.

Didn't he bestow his knowledge to help train her? What a waste.

Great. More insect demons had surrounded them. "Kagome."

She looked at him with determined eyes. "I'm ready."

He resisted the urge to insult her. Now she wanted to fight. But a moment ago, she was screaming. Where all humans this illogical?

A few minutes later, Sesshoumaru killed them all.

Kagome's face was red. "Why didn't you leave me even one to fight?"

He kept walking. Why must she insist on interrupting him when he was thinking?

Then Sesshoumaru heard the howl.

He snatched Kagome against his waist and ran.

"Put me down! What is wrong with you!" She shouted.

He ignored her. He did not have time to explain to her. It was easier this way. Maybe it was wrong that he took advantage of her trust but he knew as much as she complained that she trusted him with her life. She was a stupid girl.

"Sesshoumaru! I'm going to throw up on you." She threatened.

He ignored her.

There was no time.

Finally, after running miles in minutes. He saw them. Hundreds of dog demons. Many were injured. They were fighting against the hyena demons.

Sesshoumaru set Kagome down by a tree. "Stay here."

She stared at the battle then looked back at him and nodded.

He did not look back.

Kagome did not want to get in the middle of that battle. She was perfectly fine staying back here.

She watched him as Sesshoumaru conjured his demonic energy under his feet then flew straight to the battle.

He had no hesitation of fear. She knew that he wanted to get the strongest one who was fighting through his loyal demons. He had told her that one must always target the leader in order to break the moral of your enemies.

Sesshoumaru expanded his aura, forcing everyone to feel his presence. Kagome could not breathe until she put up a barrier to protect herself.

He took out his whip and cut through a dozen of the hyena demons and before the leader could react, then Sesshoumaru put his claws through his heart.

He threw the heart onto the ground and Kagome had to look away for a moment as her stomach turned.

When she looked, again the hyena demons stood still as they gazed at the body of their leader. All of the dog demons were bowing slightly before Sesshoumaru. Some of them had awe in their eyes. Others started chanting his name.

Then with a renewed energy, the dog demons fought against the hyena demons and won.

Kagome could not help but cheer until the truth hit her.

She sat on the ground as she realized that they were all trapped. Trapped in this prison. Everyone looked so hopeful as if Lord Sesshoumaru was going to save them.

Just like her.

Sesshoumaru was going to save them.

Yea right.

He was as stuck as they were.

He had no plan. He refused to admit it to her. She knew that if he knew how to escape then they would already be gone.

Wait? If Sesshoumaru found the other dog demons than will be, abandon her. He would not want to be seen with a human. That is why he told her to stay here.

She was going to be alone.

No wonder that he was so confident. She would be that way too if she had people treating her like that.

Somehow Kagome was starting to see Sesshoumaru as her friend. She was too comfortable. She trusted him. She was able to tell him things so easily. Even if he did make fun of her and glare at her. She was starting to think that this older demon that patiently trained, teased, and protected her everyday just might be her long, lost best friend.

She always called Inuyasha her best friend but that was a lie since you can't be in love with your best friend. Your best friend should be the one that is your living, breathing diary. The one that will guard your secrets like their own. She couldn't even tell Inuyasha her biggest secret that she was in love with him. The times that she had tried had left her stuttering and blushing.

It was so stupid of her to see Lord Sesshoumaru as her best friend. They were too different. After all once a lord always a lord, she was just a high school girl. It did not matter that they both loved learning, both held themselves to high standards and both of them hid themselves behind false masks.

That did not matter.

She had to face the reality that without Inuyasha, she was all alone. She needed to find a safe place and wait for him. Inuyasha would always find her.

She made a barrier to conceal her smell and powers like Sesshoumaru had taught her.

Then Kagome walked away.

There was no point in waiting here. Lord Sesshoumaru was not coming back.


	38. Transcending Love

**Chapter 38: Transcending Love**

_"I'm not asleep, but I'm not awake, after the way that you loved me." Adam Lambert, Sleepwalker_

* * *

After walking until her legs ached, Kagome finally found a safe place to sleep. Sesshoumaru had never found her and she doubted that he even looked. He was too busy with his demon friends. She could not complain, if she had found her friends, she did think Inuyasha would appreciate, if Sesshoumaru joined them. Of course, she would have argued, but she knew that he would not be welcomed. Still she did wish that she were not alone. She missed Sesshoumaru's annoying company even if she knew that their friendship was not meant to be. He was her enemy at the end of the day. She felt sick whenever she remembered how she was happy when Inuyasha had cut off Sesshoumaru's arm in the future. If he knew that then he probably would kill her on the spot. She vowed that she would find a way to restore his arm in the future or his future if she ever returned. She owed him that , she was not attacked since she hid her scent and powers. Kagome counted her blessings. She was safe and alive even if she did not have Momoko Sama to keep her warm.

She curled her knees to her chest and fell asleep.

During her dream, Kagome found herself on that beach again. It was this dream again.

It was the beach that she and Inuyasha had gone to on that day. She was not sure why she always remembered this place in her dreams instead of any other place. She walked along the shore and her footsteps shaped behind her then she felt his arms around her. She did not look back to see, since she knew it was Inuyasha.

She blushed as he buried his face into the back of her neck. "Did you miss me?" She teased him.

Inuyasha spun her around. "Every god damn second."

Her heart swelled with happiness. "I missed you too. I should have stayed with you."

It had been a mistake to leave the younger Inuyasha, a mistake that she was still paying for. She had been so worried about changing his future. He was supposed to meet and love Kikiyo not her. She was not going change Inuyasha's destiny, because then he would not be the Inuyasha that she knew. It was not right for her to mess up the past any more than she had already done.

This was just a dream. It was okay to love Inuyasha in her dreams. It was safe. This was not real no matter how much she wished that it was.

"Yes, you leave me every night. Why do you torture me? This time please stay with me." Inuyasha said with a catch in his throat that she dismissed.

She twirled a strand of his long silver strands around her fingers. "You do know that this is a dream. Right? I can't stay with you since I have to wake up."

He dropped his eyes to the ground. "Are you going to be sad if I can't see you anymore?"

Kagome froze. "Inuyasha, what are you saying?"

He swept her back into a hug. "Why do we have to wake up? I want this dream to never end. I want to stay with you forever."

"Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered against his chest. "What are you saying?"

He pulled back from her and then turned around.

Why did she do wrong? She touched his shoulder. "Inuyasha?"

He was not acting like himself. What was he hiding from her?

He lightly touched her fingertips. "I must be an idiot to dream about a girl that is not real every night. Why can't you be real?"

Tears came to Kagome's eyes. "You are not an idiot."

He turned to look at her and his amber eyes full of emotions that made Kagome's heart skip a beat. "I am. Even in a dream. I cannot get you to tell me your name. It is pathetic."

She smiled weakly. "You are not pathetic. I can't tell you my name because you already know it."

Inuyasha shook his head. "I don't want to argue with you. I do not know if I will see you again. The last memory I have of you has to be your smile."

Kagome's mind whirled in confusion. Why did he think that he would not see her again? Maybe he was just worrying?

She caressed his cheek. "We will see each other again. I swear. We will see each other."

He smiled a false smile then wrapped his arms around her again.

Was he upset that she did not tell him her name? It was only a dream. Why could she at least have a dream where he was not upset with her? It made no sense. Shouldn't this dream be less realistic? Why could she not control anything? What if this was not just a dream?

"It's okay." He whispered in her ear. "I just want to hold you. I am not having a good day."

"Inuyasha, are you okay?"

"Shhh." He whispered. "I'm okay. Do not worry. I just am happy to see you."

"Me too." Kagome whispered.

He tilted her chin to look into her eyes and Kagome melted at the look in his eyes.

"I love you." Inuyasha said and Kagome's heart fluttered.

"I love you, too." Kagome whispered.

"No matter what happens or where you go. Never forget that Inuyasha loves you." He said with a fierceness that made Kagome want to cry.

"Inuyasha, stop. We will see each other again." Kagome tried to reassure him.

He smiled softly. "I'm sorry. I really did try to find you again. I was not strong enough. Goodbye."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed.

He was gone.

The flustered servant ran into Lord Usui's study. "Lord, the prison guard said something is wrong with the demon prisoner."

Lord Usui glared him from across the room. "How dare you interrupt me?"

The servant bowed almost to the floor. "He said that he thought that the demon was dying."

Lord Usui put down the report he was reading. He did not wish for the beast to die since the demon was still useful to show his people that he was the new lord of the west.

"Bring my niece to me."

The servant ran away in a hurry.

Lord Usui mood had darkened. How could his toy die? It would be inconvenient. No matter his niece was only 15 but she was a skilled healer. She was the only one that he would trust for this task. His respectful niece did not keep him waiting too long.

"Uncle" the girl walked in gracefully and bowed.

"Kikiyo, my favorite niece how is your studies?"

She stood straight. "My studies are going well. Thank you uncle for letting me have another tutor."

"My dear, what choice do I have? You are such a good student that you surpass your tutors. I think one day you will be more powerful than Mirodoko."

Kikiyo blushed happily. "Uncle you flatter me."

He shook his head. "You are young and don't see your potential. Your parents would be proud of you if they were alive."

The smile left her face.

"The last three years you have worked so hard. You are a strong young woman and you are such a good role model for your sister Kaeda. She adores you. You are more than a sister. You are the only mother that she knows. I am proud to call you my niece. "

"Thank you Uncle for taking us in after we were orphaned."

He shook his head. "You were never an orphan. Your father is my brother. We are family, little one."

She smiled again.

"Now there is the beautiful smile that I love. Now niece I have a favor to ask you."

She stepped closer. "Anything for you Uncle."

"I want you to heal the demon, Inuyasha."

She blinked. "I thought it was forbidden for a priestess to heal a demon."

"Niece." Her uncle chided. "I need you to do me this small favor. If it helps, you ease your mind. His mother was human. You are not going to deny me. Are you?"

Kikiyo shook her head quickly. She bowed. "As you wish Uncle."

"The demon is dying and only you can help him. Heal him but be careful. If he harms you then do not hesitate to purify him." Lord Usui advised.

"I understand."

"You are dismissed."

Kikiyo left the room.

Lord Usui continued reading his reports.

Kikiyo went into the dungeon where the prisoner was being held. She was nervous but she wanted his approval since she was grateful to her uncle. She knew that he was not perfect, but she owed him. Even if Kikiyo had a bad idea about this, but she would never defy her uncle.

A dungeon guard led her down into the labyrinth to where the demon was being held. She tried not to look at the human prisoners that cried out for help. She tried not to show her fear of the ones that looked as if they would happily slaughter her.

Finally, they reached the last door. "It is in here. I am not sure what is wrong with it. Tonight, he is not moving and his hair turned from silver to black. I never seen anything like it. It has not moved in hours. I think it is dying. Do you think that you can heal it? "

Kikiyo was not sure. It was forbidden for a priestess to heal a demon. There were many things that could go wrong. Although, she doubted that her uncle cared if she hurt the demon.

"I will do my best." The teenager said, trying to keep her voice even. "Please open the door."

He eyed her carefully. "Even if it is dying, you could still be hurt. Did you want me to stay with you? You are barely a child. You should not be in there alone."

She was young but even she could tell that this man did not really want to stay. He was only being polite. He probably saw her as much as demon as the creature inside.

Kikiyo shook her head. "Thank you for your offer, but I must decline. I need to concentrate and I cannot afford any distractions."

Kikiyo waited for him to open the door. As soon as he let her in, the guard shut the door quickly. Something did not feel right to her senses, and what she saw shocked her. The demon Inuyasha had become human. His hair was now black, his claws were gone, but his skin was pale and breathing laborious. He was dying. What was happening?

Before she stopped herself, she pushed his silky black hair from his face to get a closer look. He was the most handsome man that she had ever seen. Her heart pounded so loud that it seemed to echo in the room.

How had he become a human?


	39. Human

**Chapter 39: A Human**

**"Don't tell me if I am dying, cause I don't want to know." Thriving Ivory, Angels on the Moon**

* * *

He was human. Kikiyo could not believe it that such a thing could happen. She drew back her fingers from Inuyasha's black hair as if she was burned.

His breathing was shallower. His blood was everywhere.

She needed to stop the bleeding. Her hand shook as she tended to his wounds. Was he going to turn back into a demon? Was this permanent? How was she going to change him back? Kikiyo did not know what to think. It did not matter anyway since time was running out.

She had to heal him but she was afraid. What was he? What had she agreed to? Could she even save him? She should have told her uncle no.

This was beyond her scope. She could not help him.

Her nerves were unsettled. All her instincts screamed at her to walk away. This beautiful man was dangerous. She needed to get away from him before it was too late. Someone else should help him.

Kikiyo started to get up then she heard him whisper.

"Don't leave me."

His words tore through her heart. Was he awake? How? With those injuries. How could he talk? No, he was unconscious. Had he really spoken?

Kikiyo could not leave. She had sworn to help those in need. She could not walk away from Inuyasha. But why was her heart pounding like this. It was a mistake to help him. The biggest mistake that she will ever make. She knew it. She could feel it, and her instincts were always right.

But could she live with herself if she walked away from him?

She looked at his sleeping face and fear and longing shook her soul.

She was too young for this. She was still too new to her powers. There had to be someone else that could help this young man that unsettled her in every way.

But she knew that no one else was here except for her.

If she did not help him then Inuyasha would die.

Kikiyo tried to find her resolve. She straightened up. Everyone said that she was the most powerful priestess since Midoriko. That had to mean something. Even though she did not believe it at all. She was only 15 years old.

Midoriko was a legend.

Kikiyo was just plain old Kikiyo.

An orphan at the mercy of her uncle's goodwill.

She gently touched his wrist and almost let go. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

She could do this.

She had to.

Kikiyo opened her powers then searched for Inuyasha's aura. She unlocked it and stepped inside. The pain that hit her. Tears came to her eyes. It was too much. Her soul hurt.

Where was he?

Even in his mind, there was blood everywhere.

He had to be here somewhere.

She clenched her jaw. Everything hurt so much. Where was Inuyasha?

Then she heard the screaming.

Kikiyo ran towards it.

Was that Inuyasha?

It was a small boy sitting in a tree.

He had his white hair and furry ears and he was screaming.

Her heart shook. What should she do? She could not help him if she could not reach him.

She came closer and she saw the demon at the base of the tree.

"Inuyasha!" she screamed. "He is not real! This is not real! It is your imagination! You have to calm down!"

Inuyasha did not hear her. He was too focused on the demon with sharp fangs at the bottom of the tree.

"Inuyasha! You have to listen to me! You are dying! I have to heal you! But I can't help you if you don't calm down!" Kikiyo screamed and he did not even look at her.

Kikiyo did not know what to do. He was not listening. She had to go closer. Why did he have to be in a tree? She silently prayed that she would not fall. Slowly, she climbed the tree and winced at Inuyasha's screams.

Her heart broke at the frightened child. She knew that Inuyasha was much older, but right now, she just saw a frightened child. She had to save him. She had to reach him before it was too late.

Finally, she was on the same branch as him. "Inuyasha."

He ignored her.

"Inuyasha, look at me." She demanded.

He would not.

She pulled the child into her arms. Then she saw that he was covered in his own blood.

"Shhhh." she whispered into his ear trying to calm him down.

She sang a soft lullaby as she held him until he calmed down until the other demon had disappeared.

She poured her powers into him, fixing the broken ribs and spine, sealing his bleeding organs, and closing all his wounds. She could not replace the blood loss, but she had given him more time.

He would survive.

She was so glad.

It was time for her to leave.

She carried the sleeping child to the bottom of the tree since she did not feel right with leaving him on the branch. It was difficult to climb down but she managed.

Before she left, she kissed his forehead. "Sleep well, lnuyasha."

Kikiyo returned to her body. She stared at his handsome, sleeping face. His breathing was much more even. He was still human. She did not know what else to do. At least he was alive. He was weak but he was alive. There was nothing else that she could do.

She let go his wrist, covered him with his blanket, asked the guard to open the prison, and ran back to her room.

She locked her bedroom and she slide down to the floor in a heap with tears in her eyes. She had saved him, but she had only saved him to be tortured for another day. She had not really saved him after all.


	40. Trangress

**40\. Trangress**

* * *

Kikiyo woke when she heard the loud pounding knocks on her door. It was still night. What could they be doing here? The room flooded with candles as the room was opened. Four of her uncle's guards were outside. This could not be good.

She covered herself with the blanket and sat up as straight with as much dignity as she could find. "What is the meaning of this?"

The guards bowed, one spoke, "Our apologies, your uncle, Lord Usui requires your presence. Please dress and we will wait for you outside."

She quickly dressed and followed the guards. They opened her uncle's study and let her in alone.

As soon as she walked in, she saw her uncle glaring at her, and she forced herself not to step back from his fury.

Lord Usui threw a small statue, and it hit the door beside her. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Uncle, what is the matter?"

He grimaced, "How dare you ask that!"

Kikiyo tried not to panic. She was used to her uncle's temper tantrums, but he did seem more angry than usual. "I do not understand."

"You turned Inuyasha into a human!" Her uncle accused her.

She froze in shock.

"Do not try to deny it. The guard saw him and I checked to be sure! You ungrateful brat! How could you do this! You betrayed me! I will throw you and your baby sister out! Let's see how long you last all alone. After everything I did for you! Treated you like my own daughter. This is the thanks that I get. "

"But uncle, please." She begged as she fell to the floor. "I would never betray you. I swear."

Lord Usui grabbed her by the hair and hanked her up. "If you did not look so much like her, I swear I would kill you right now. Just because I am kind to you, you abuse me in the worst way."

Kikiyo did not know what to say. Her uncle was so angry that she knew that he would never believe her, if she told him that Inuyasha had become human on his own.

"This is a war. I will destroy these demons. Humans and demons are not meant to co exist. It is either us or them. That thing was my war trophy. I have captured many of the demons in the West and I even captured the new Lord of the West and his brother. This is my kingdom. Now you took away my trophy. I don't know what you did, but you will fix it. If I do not have a demon for morning torture than I will declare you a witch. That your holy powers have become tainted. Do you really think that anyone here will not call for your death?"

Kikiyo gasped.

He smiked. "They will beg for your death. Then I will have no choice than to end you. Than what do you think will happen to your sister? You will fix this. Yes."

Kikiyo blinked back her tears she refused to cry, "Yes, Uncle."

He pulled her hair so tight that Kikiyo could feel the tears in her eyes. "Do you really think that you are untouchable?"

"No, never." She whispered.

"Kikiyo, " He yanked her hair again. "Don't even consider getting in my way. I will destroy you and you will wish that you were dead. You will fix this." He threw her to the ground.

Slowly, Kikiyo with her head lowered, her long hair covered her face, she bowed, and turned to leave.

"One more thing."

Kikiyo froze as she waited for him to speak.

"Remember the last time that you ran away?"

Kikiyo nodded slightly.

"Remember that I found you and Kaeda. Remember the time before that? No running away. You will return Inuyasha into a demon as he was before. There is no escape. If you fail than you will be punished accordingly and face your punishment. I would prefer that you endure it with grace than with shame. Now, get out of my sight."

Kikiyo left the room and she had to force herself to not start shaking. Not in front of the guards. She clenched her teeth. "Take me back to the demon prisoner. "

When she entered the prison cell, her heart sank as she looked at the unconscious human boy that did not seem demonic at all.

She sank to her knees. She had no idea what to do. She was a priestess that learned to take away demonic energy not restore it. Why would her uncle think that this was her fault? It was not fair. She had to think of something, but she had no idea what to do. It was so late. It will be sunrise soon. Her uncle had given her no time.

Maybe he lost his powers since he was so injured? Maybe she could heal his demonic energy. Was that even possible? That was ridiculous. She was going die and then Kaede will die too.

She wished that she had not been caught the last time that she ran away. Kikiyo needed to just accept her fate. Her uncle was not going to get his demon back it was not possible.

"Mother, I am so sorry that I could not take care of Kaede for you." She whispered.

The tears fell down her face and her hands shook as she knew that her fate was sealed. It was over and there was nothing that she could do. She cried and cried as the sun began to rise.

Then she felt the strong course of demonic energy. "Inuyasha?"

It was a miracle. The demonic energy returned to him. He woke up, his amber eyes eyes fixed on her. He crossed the small room in a fury. Kikiyo tried to remember how to raise a barrier, but he was too fast.

Instead, of trying to hurt her, he stared at her with eyes full of pain and confusion. "Do I know you?"


	41. A Real Demon

**41\. A Real Demon**

* * *

The terrified teenage girl backed away from him, "Get away from me!"

She ran to the exit of the locked prison cell. "Open the door!"

Inuyasha would have laughed if he wasn't so shocked. For a second he thought he was dreaming or had finally become insane. It must not be her. She would never run away from him. Never once in his dreams did she ever run from him. He was mistaken. The girl in his dreams was kind, sweet, and she trusted him. She would never run from him.

Yet, when he saw this girl's face, he knew without a doubt that the girl in his dreams looked exactly like her, so he could not stop himself from staring.

This girl had to be around 16 or 17 years old in human years. Her long dark hair and eyes that made him ache inside with familiarity. Her face was much too girl- the one that he dreams about every night. The one that he was looking for. Why couldn't he remember her face until now?

Did that mean that his dreams were real? He knew without a doubt that she looked like this girl.

Why did she have her face? "Damn!" Inuyasha hit the wall with his fist and the spell burned his hand.

The girl stood up. She had a blank expression on her face but Inuyasha could hear her nervous heart beat. "Are you okay?"

Inuyasha flinched then turned away. He did not want to look at her.

It made something in his chest hurt.

"Inuyasha, my name is Kikiyo. You should get some rest. You are still not recovered."

Inuyasha glared at her, "Shouldn't you get out here before you get killed?" The last thing he had ever expected was to find a girl in his jail cell. Either she was powerful or she was an idiot, and he betted on the latter.

The teenage girl stood straight and eyed him defiantly, "Inuyasha, I am not afraid of you."

"Get out." Inuyasha growled. He hated the confusion that he felt from looking at her. If he could not get away from her then she needed to get away from him.

The girl didn't move.

Inuyasha stepped forward intending to threaten her when pain laced through him. He doubled over tripping over his enchanted chains. "Damn it."

Kikiyo rushed over. She forced him to lie down. "I told you that you should rest."

"Rest for what? Before your father tortures me? I don't need to rest for that. Are you crazy? Get the hell out of here!"

"Lord Usui is my uncle, not my father." The girl protested. "I'm sorry for what he-

"Save your breath." Inuyasha scowled, "You stink just like him. I should torture you just for revenge."

The girl stepped back, "It wouldn't do you any good. My uncle hates me. He would not not care."

He could not believe that during the night of the new moon that he had still been trapped here. He had to escape from this place but the room had spirit wards on all the walls, his ankles had enchanted chains on them, and he could barely heal properly, much less escape.

Then he realized that she must have seen his human side.

His secret.

Then Inuyasha became furious. Inyasha grew angrier as her scent surrounded him as she stepped forward. All he could see was Lord Usui standing over him. He would make him pay with the blood of this girl. "I don't believe you, Priestess. Did you come here to kill me?"

"No, I didn't"

"Why else would you be in here?"

"I was trying to help you." She said frantically.

Inuyasha laughed hollowly, "Do I look stupid to you?"

Kikiyo was shaking. "Leave me alone."

"You are an idiot for coming in here." Inuyasha growled. "What did you see?"

"I didn't see must believe me. Please let me leave," Kikiyo pleaded.

"Are you sure about that?" Inuyasha asked menacingly as he grew more irritated by the second. She had seen his biggest secret. His weakness. He could not let her live.

"I swear, " Kikiyo said.

Inuyasha went so close to her that he could feel her breathe. He slammed the wall next to her head and ignored his burning hand. Spiritual powers powers could never kill him. He could feel the girl's power rising against him, but it would do her no good on him.

He wanted to kill her. He should kill her. She knew his secret, and she was Lord Usui's niece. It didn't matter that she had her face.

Kikiyo had tears in her eyes, "I swear. I did not see anything at all. Just let me go."

He had to kill her. But she had her face. If he killed her than it would haunt him. But he couldn't trust her not to tell Lord Usui. He couldn't trust anyone. He needed to protect himself. It was ridiculous to let her live. Inuyasha did not need all his powers to kill this girl. He would kill her in order to keep his secret. He would kill her so fast before she could even blink. He would make it painless. He would show mercy to this Kikiyo.

He steeled himself to do it.

There was no need to risk himself for sentimental reasons. Who cares if she looked like that girl from his dreams? No one knew his secret except Myouga. No one. He could not take a risk like that. It was too foolish to have anyone else know about his secret. Who knows what people would do if they knew his night of weakness? Then for a priestess to learn his secret of anyone. It was a disaster.

He had to kill her. It was the only option.

But-

Inuyasha couldn't bring himself to kill her.

"If you ever tell anyone what you saw." Inuyasha threatened her. "I will be the last thing that you ever see. Wench, I can't the sight of you. Get out. Before I change my mind about not breaking all your bones, like your uncle did to me."

Kikiyo ran to the door, "Let me out!"

The prison guards opened the cell and Kikiyo ran out.

Inuyasha hit the wall again. He was so weak. A real demon would have killed her without hesitation. A real demon would never have let her escape.


	42. Big Sister

**42\. Big Sister**

* * *

"There you are." Sango stood at the door of the well house. "We were looking everywhere for you."

Sango was so furious at this brat, Shigure. If he knew her, then he would have ran away at the sight of her darkened eyes full of murderous contemplation. Instead, Kagome's future teenage father glared at her as if she was wrong for looking for him.

Shigure sat on the ground leaning against the well. "What do you want from me?"

Sango clenched her teeth as she tried to ignore the instinct to bump the surly teenager on his head. "It was not very nice of you to purify Inuyasha and leave him on the roof. He did not know how to get home without his powers."

"Too bad." Shigure scoffed. "He shouldn't have followed me like a puppy."

"You tried to kill him." Sango snapped.

"I did not." Shigure sighed, "He is only a half demon. Shame if he was a full demon than I could have killed him. I just was mad that he followed me and wanted to teach him a lesson. I wasn't try to kill him."

Sango gripped the edge of the door. "But why did it take you so long to tell us. He was out alone for hours. Anything could have happened to him. Thank goodness that Kilala was able to find him."

Kilala had set out to search for Inuyasha as soon as Shigure had confessed. Sango couldn't believe how selfish and inconsiderate Shigure was to do that to Inuyasha. This strange world scared her. She was glad that she was not alone here. How awful it must have been for Inuyasha to be out there alone and unable to get home. He had wandered and became lost for hours. She was sure that he would beat up Shigure if he wasn't so tired. She had made Inuyasha go rest.

Shigure rolled his eyes, "It is not my problem." He picked at his shoes not meeting her eyes.

Sango took a deep breath. "Shigure, I understand that you don't want to help us. But we are asking you to help your daughter." Why didn't he see how important this was? Sango wanted to shake him out of his nonchalant attitude.

He raised his head, "Daughter? I don't have a kid. You freaks are all crazy. I can't believe my father hasn't kicked you out, yet. If it was up to me, I would call the police and have all of you arrested for trespassing."

Sango blinked in disbelief. "I understand that it is hard to believe, but it-"

Shigure stood up, cutting her off, and stepped closer to her, "A lie. I don't know what you people really want with me. But I don't want anything to do with demons or their friends. I am a priest. I don't help demons."

Shigure attempted to walk out.

Sango blocked the doorway, so he could not get out, "This is not about helping us. We want to help Kagome. Your daughter. Whether or not you believe it. We have to help Kagome. You have to help us, to help her."

"I don't have to do anything for you." Shigure leaned closer, "Just because you are cute, you think that you can force me. Keep dreaming."

Sango grabbed his arm and flipped him over her shoulder, "I am a demon slayer. I haven't even began to try to force you to do anything. Would you like me to try that approach instead? I was trying to be nice for Kagome's sake. But if you would prefer it the other way..."

Shigure sat up and stared at her in shock, "Girl, are you crazy? Demon slayer? What kind of demon slayer protects demons? That makes no sense."

"Not every demon is the same." Sango crossed her arms.

"Demons and humans are enemies. If you are a real demon slayer than you would understand that."

"I used to think that way until I met Kagome. Kagome made me see things differently. She does not see demons and humans as enemies. I have never met anyone like her before. She has a way of bringing people together. The only reason we all become friends is because of her. Kagome is like the little sister I never had. She would never hesitate to help. Kagome is a good person. The best person. If you knew her than you would understand. You would do anything to help her. Every second that we are wasting, she could be in danger. Yes, she is a powerful priestess, but she is untrained."

Shigure smirked, "Untrained? Now, I know that you are lying. I would never allow my daughter to be untrained if she had spiritual powers."

Sango looked him square in the eyes, "Kagome told me one day, that her father passed away when she was young."

Shigure froze for a moment, "Oh-"

"So, are you going to let her die too?" Sango smirked at the shock on his face. "It is the least that you can do. If you had trained her like my father had trained me, then I would not be worried. Instead, Kagome is out there alone in a world full of demons who would happy to kill her. And her so-called father who should help her is not concerned at all."

Shigure looked away from her. Sango continued. Her voice growing more bitter as she spoke.

"That night that she told me about you. She cried. She told me how much she missed you. How you carried her on your shoulders whenever she asked. How you taught her to play games. How you used to tell her stories until she fell asleep. But when I look at you. I am not sure why she cried for you. Don't worry. We will find her with or without you. And I will never tell her how we met you and that you refused to help her. It will be our secret. I would never cause her any pain. One day, you will have your daughter, and you will know that we are telling the truth and you will regret that you refused to save her." Sango sneered at him in disgust then turned to walk away.

"Wait." Shigure stood up, "What do you need me to do?"


	43. Impossible

**43\. Impossible**

* * *

Sango explained to Shigure what had happened to Kagome and the well. How she had been pulled into the well on her 15th birthday. How she always traveled to her time through the well. How the well had been tampered with and they had used another well to get here.

Shigure leaned back against the wall of the well house, "So you need me to help Miroku fix the well?"

Sango nodded, "Yes, the monk is powerful, but he needs help to do this even if he does not want to admit it. This will take a lot of power." She had noticed that Miroku seemed lethargic ever since we had done the spell that brought them to the future. Sango had not confronted him about him so not to embarrass him.

"Why me?" Shigure asked.

"I don't know why we met you. We were not expecting this. We were looking for Kagome. Maybe your spiritual energy is similar? But my father taught me that there is a reason for everything."

There had to be a reason. Plus Sango was desperate. They needed to find Kagome as soon as possible. Any lead was valuable.

Shigure sighed, "I will try my best to help, but I have never done this before. I also don't see how you can find someone that is lost in time. She could be anywhere. It is ridiculous even the idea of finding her."

Sango glared at him, "How dare you say that?" She held herself back from punching the arrogant teenager. He was willing to help, so she was trying to show patience.

Shigure raised his eyebrows, "I am just telling you the truth. You need a better plan than running around through every time period. You will die of old age before you find her."

Sango frowned, "And you have a better suggestion?" It had not occurred to her that the plan may take too long. Sango had a tendency to jump forward into problems without thinking about consequences or failure. She didn't avoid it because she was stupid. It was because if you are trying to walk across a bridge that is high above the ground, if you look down than you will lose our nerve and fall. It was always easier for her to not look down or too deeply. Only focus on your goal and watch the other side, never look down or back. It was one trait that her and Inuyasha had in common.

Shigure watched her carefully before speaking, "I think you need to fix the well and let her come back on her own."

Maybe he deserve to be beaten up?" But what if she is hurt or kidnapped and can't get back to the well?" Sango asked her voice rising on each word.

"Don't you trust her at all?" Shigure asked. "Or is Kagome that incompetent?"

"What?" Sango's fist balled into a fist. "How dare you? You don't know anything about her or our world? It is not like this place where you only worry about human problems."

"Only human problems?" Shigure raised his deep voice "I fight demons every day."

Sango stared at him in shock, "But Kagome said in the future that there are no demons."

He smirked, "Maybe, I finally killed them all."

Sango blinked. Was that even possible? She looked at the surly teenager up and down. There was no way that he had accomplished what her family had spent centuries on. But why was Shigure fighting demons? "Kagome had said that she had never seen any demons and that demons were a myth."

Shigure laughed, "Demons are not a myth. They are everywhere. But it is true that most people do not know that they exist. Are they in the open in your world?"

Sango nodded, "Yes, everyone knows that demons exist."

"Here the demons are in hiding. However that does not stop them for attacking any human that has any spiritual powers." He pulled up his shirt to show the scars on his back.

Sango grimaced, "The world has changed but not that much."

Shigure looked her right in the eye, "You can not travel through every time period looking for her. It is impossible."

"We also can't sit around waiting for her." Sango countered. She refused to go back to the village and wait. They had waited long enough. Any second wasted is a second more that Kagome had to struggle alone. She had to find her.

Shigure ran his fingers through his ear-length black hair, "Sango, it is impossible."

"It is not. We will find her. There is no other option. We must and we will. I can't think of any other options."

"Fine." Shigure sighed in frustration. "What are the chances that anyone would know where Kagome is and that they would be still alive?"

Sango blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Did Kagome have any other demon friends that might still be alive in this time period?" Shigure asked.

Sango mind started racing, "I am not sure if Inuyasha would survive till this era. But maybe?" But he was a half demon. She had never heard of a half demon living for 500 years. That was a long time. Only a full demon can live for 500 years or even thousands of years. But Inuyasha was stubborn so he might. Then again he was very reckless. It was a shock that he was alive as it was. He had almost died many times. Inuyasha always made her feel that she was sensible one. He rushed into fights faster than her.

Shigure rubbed his forehead, "What about the kid?"

"The kid?"

"The little squirrel thing."

Squirrel? What was he talking about? Understanding dawned on her, "Shippo?"

Shigure nodded, "If you find Shippo in the future, maybe he will know where Kagome is."

Shippo? Shippo would definitely live for a long time. He would help them. He would always be family no matter how old that he was.

Sango stood up and bowed, "Thank you priest."

"But do not tell the kid. It is not good to mess with destiny. He should not meet his older self." Shigure warned.


	44. Future Missteps

**Chapter 44: Future Missteps**

* * *

Kagome's bow and arrows were knocked out of her hand by the demon's tail. It tossed her across the clearing then reached to grab her. Fear and instincts moved her body faster to avoid getting caught. She needed to get to her bow. Kagome twisted and turned again to around the demon. Her fingertips almost reached them until the demon blocked her way.

The reptilian demon hissed at her. It lunged at her. His scaled tail wrapped around her waist. She screamed in terror. Then it became hard to breath.

Her powers instinctively rose up to protect her. Blue light surrounded her then penetrated the demon. Purifying it into nothing. Kagome cheered to herself until she started to fall.

She was too high. And Inuyasha and Shippo were not here to catch her.

"Sesshoumaru!" She screamed.

Nothing.

Stupid.

Of course that he wasn't here.

She had left him.

She had to think. Her hands reached for the nearest tree branches. She grabbed on and held on for her life.

That hurt.

Kagome tried to pull herself up, but her arms ached. Instead, she used her legs to balance herself on the lower branches. But the lower branches were too low. She needed to move before the branch broke or her arms gave out. Kagome looked down and gulped. "At least, I didn't fall down there. Now, I just need to get down."

The branch started to creak.

Why was this happening to her? She hated this place. She wanted to go home. Tears fell from her eyes. She missed Inuyasha. She missed her family. She missed her family. What if she never saw them again? She shook her head. She had to stop. She couldn't think about the future. She needed to only think about right now. Or she would fall. It was a long way down. She had to jump towards the trunk.

Kagome pushed herself forward then grabbed onto the trunk of the tree. She started to slide down slowly.

It seemed to take forever to get down. Kagome's knees wobbled. She wanted to kiss the ground once she reached the bottom.

Yet, before she could feel happy. Sesshoumaru's hand was on her throat and she was pinned against the tree.

"Where have you been?" Kagome asked with her voice cracking. "I thought you made new friends."

"Why were you hiding from me?" He demanded.

"Get off of me."

He dropped her. "Explain."

She rubbed her throat as she tried to compose herself. "I have nothing to explain. You found your friends. I need to find mine."

Kagome refused to be a burden on anyone. At least with her friends she had something to offer. Inuyasha and her friends needed her. She could find the shards, she could help in battle, and she could help feed everyone. But Sesshoumaru needed no one at all. He was very powerful. She was the one that needed him. Sesshoumaru was a full demon. He was even a lord. He didn't need anything from her. She was just a burden. She hated this feeling. She didn't want it. It was already bad enough that she was too far in the past. She was already doing an amazing job of ruining Sesshoumaru's future. She could bet money that she had already damaged his life enough as it was.

He was never supposed to be here trapped with her.

This was not meant to be.

Kagome could not tamper with time any more than she had. Getting back home was her responsibility. It was not his.

Sesshoumaru glared at her. "You made this Sesshoumaru search for you."

"What did you expect me to do?" Kagome blinked in confusion. "I thought you would be happy to get rid of me. All I did was make things worse for you. If you were not with me then you would not be in this situation."

"Do not do such a reckless decision again. Let us go." Sesshoumaru turned to walk away.

Was he serious?

Kagome shook her head. "I don't want to go with you. Sesshoumaru. You helped me already too much. If there is a chance that you can escape without me then you should go. Don't worry about me. You have a future. I am sure about that. I am not sure about me."

He froze. "Let's go. I do not like to repeat myself."

"But why-" Kagome's tears started to fall again. "You don't have to stay with me. I will get out of here on my own. I do not want to ruin your future."

Sesshoumaru turned to stare at her, and his eyes flashed with me patience. "As if a human can have any impact on my future. Do not think so highly of yourself. This Sesshoumaru does not break his word. How dare you suggest that do? I will get you back home. Let's go. "

"Where are we going?" Kagome asked.

"We are going to leave this place."

"How?"

"They are waiting. We must break the seal. It was made from holy powers. A powerful priestess is needed. You should be able to break it."

She grinned.

Kagome followed behind him quickly until a thought occurred to her.

Kagome stomped her foot. "How long were you here? Why didn't you help me out of the tree?"

He turned to look at her with a small smirk on his face. "You never were at risk from falling."

"You jerk!" Kagome shouted. "How long were you here!"

"I heard you when you called my name." He said simply.


	45. The Barrier

**45\. The Barrier**

* * *

Kagome was tired, sore, and hungry. Sesshoumaru was none of the above. It was unfair.

"How far away is the barrier?" Kagome whined again. "My feet are hurting."

Sesshoumaru ignored her as he had been doing for the last hour.

She narrowed her eyes but marched on. How far away could it be? She needed a break if they didn't get there soon. If only Inuyasha was here then he would carry her. He was so much more nicer than Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha would never let her walk for this long.

"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome called.

Nothing.

"Sesshoumaru!" She shouted as she stomped her foot then instantly regretted it as the pain hit her.

He turned around to glare at her. "Human cease your whining, before I make you." His claws flexed.

Kagome flinched. Maybe it was not the best idea to make him more angry. But- she needed to rest. Instead, she clapped her hands and gave him the biggest, widest puppy dog look.

He stepped forward before she could react and threw her over his shoulder, "Rest."

She groaned. This was so not what she had in mind. This was going to be a long trip.

* * *

It seemed like forever until Sesshoumaru stopped.

"Are you kidding?" Kagome stared into the dark fog in dismay. She had never seen fog this dark. It seemed so far and reaching. She could not see anything except for the fog. How could he expect her to go into that? Alone?

Sesshoumaru was silent.

Kagome gulped. "It's so dark. I can't see. I don't have your eyesight."

"You do not need to see. You only need to use your powers."

Kagome blinked in confusion. "But use them where? I can't see?"

"Miko," Sesshoumaru said. "You must find the seal and break it. I cannot take you. Do you not feel the powers of purification?"

Kagome could feel it. It was very strong. It was made to keep all demons from passing through. Sesshoumaru could not go with her. It was so dark. She wished she had her flashlight. "Can we wait until the fog lifts?"

"I was told that the fog never lifts. It doesn't matter if it is dark or light. "

"Great." Kagome muttered under her breath.

"Miko, you have weak eyes, therefore you must use your powers as your sight." Sesshoumaru lectured her.

"How?"

"Useless human."

"Without seeing?"

Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrows. "How do you find the Shikon shards? I highly doubt that you use your eyes. You use your powers."

"But-" Suddenly, she felt a swelling of demonic power behind her. She turned around ready to do battle.

"Be still miko. It is not our enemies." Sesshoumaru ordered.

Hundreds of dog demons landed before them. At once they all bowed to the ground. Kagome had to force her powers down from the hit of unexpected demonic energy.

"You may rise." Sesshoumaru told them.

They all stood. Kagome stared at them in awe and pity.

The leader in the front spoke. "Lord Sesshoumaru is this the powerful miko that you told us about? The one who will save us."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "This is Lady Kagome. She will break the seal."

Immediately, all the dog demons bowed to her.

Kagome flushed. "No, no that is not necessary."

A female demon stepped forward, "Thank you, Lady Kagome. I have been trapped here for 5 years. I ache for my children and mate. It is fate that brought you and Lord Sesshoumaru to save us. May the gods bless you."

Many of the demons echoed similar blessings.

Kagome glanced at Sesshoumaru but he did not look at her. What if she couldn't do this? Especially since she had no idea on what to do. They were all counting on her. The closer that she looked at the dog demons that she realized that they were mostly older and many of the demons were just children, older than Shippo, but still so young. Why had she noticed before?

She didn't realize how many innocent demons were trapped in here. Why would anyone kidnap them? Anger began to fill her. How long had they been in here?

"What do I have to do?" Kagome told Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru didn't respond for a moment, and she wondered if he would. But she tried to show patience by waiting.

"Miko, find the source of concentrated purity then break the seal. After you break the seal then we can leave."

Kagome took a deep breath and entered the dark fog.

She turned to look behind her and no one was there.

"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome shouted. "Can you hear me?"

Nothing.

She narrowed her eyes. He better not be ignoring her, or she swore that she will pay him back. It was so dark in here. How was she going to not trip and fall? Her heart raced. What if she became lost in here? All the directions looked the same. She could die in here. She needed to concentrate.

Kagome focused on her powers.

Nothing.

Kagome never should have listened to Sesshoumaru. This was not the same as finding the Shikon Jewel. Right now. All she could tell that there were no shards anywhere here.

"I can't do this."

But if she failed then she would be trapped in here forever. Sesshoumaru would lose his future. Those dog demons would never see their families again. She missed her family. She missed her friends. Even if she was stuck in the wrong time, Sesshoumaru was not meant to be here. She knew his future. Kind of. That gave her hope that there had to be a way out of here.

She closed her eyes and reached out with her powers until she felt it. It was huge. The barrier was held together by tiny threads. Where was the first thread? She searched with her powers until she found it. She was surprised to see no guard here. They must assume that only demons would try to reach here.

She walked towards it then grabbed it and broke it with her powers. The explosion pushed her backwards to the ground. But she didn't fall because Sesshoumaru caught her.

"Did I do it?" Kagome whispered as she tried to stay conscious.

The sky opened as the barrier fell around them.

"Hold tight. The wind tunnel is reversing." Sesshoumaru advised.

The wind pushed them. The entire world fractured apart. Sesshoumaru used his demonic energy to protect them. He guided so debris did not crush her.

He flew and flew until they were finally free.

She hugged Sesshoumaru. "We did it!"

He dropped her on the ground.


	46. Restless Rest

**46\. Restless Rest**

"_You were everything that I ever wanted." My Happy Ending, Avril Lavigne_

* * *

Sesshoumaru took Kagome to his castle. She was exhausted and the idea of a place to rest was appealing. When she saw his guest room, she was not disappointed. It was as good as any traditional hotel. It was the top of luxury. She was ready to sleep. First, she needs to take a bath.

A few minutes later, Kagome was soaking in the warm waters. "This is heaven."

How had her life become this confusing?

She only wanted to go home. Why was it this hard? At least now she was free. She needed to find a way to fix the well. She needed to find someone who knew how to do this.

She missed Inuyasha so much. When he was with her then she felt safe, but being in the feudal era without him was awful. When did she get so attached to him? She had to be strong, or she would never be able to get home.

She thought by now that she would get over him. But she missed him more. Why was love this annoying? She wished she could walk away from him. She wanted to start over and love someone else. It was so hard to be the one that always forgave. The one that always waiting. All she wanted Inuyasha to tell her that he loved her her. What if he never said it because he never loved her? Maybe it was all in her head. Maybe she was the only one that loved. It made sense right. If he loved her then he would say so. He never said that he loved her. He never asked to be her boyfriend... But then again he didn't know what being a boyfriend was. Still he never asked to marry her either. Isn't that what guys in this era did?

Even Miroku asked if she would bare his child.

Kouga always said she was his woman.

But with Inuyasha, he never said anything.

It wasn't that he never saved her. Or that he wasn't always there for her. He always was 100%. But he still gave mixed signals and always acted like he didn't like her. She always assumed that he was kidding. Maybe he was serious? Maybe he wasn't joking? Maybe he only saw her as a friend.

Wasn't it selfish of her to force him? You can't force someone to love you. Either they loved you or they didn't. She needed to accept that he didn't feel the same way. But it was so hard. It made her heart ache at the idea.

But even if she never got over Inuyasha, did it matter? Would she ever want to give her heart away again? Why would anyone want to feel this terrible on purpose. She needed to focus on her school, on getting the jewel shards, and then getting a fabulous career. She would work on becoming rich. Who needed anyone then? She might even become famous.

What was the purpose of love anyone? It seemed like a twisted joke to fall in love with someone that didn't love you back. It must be not meant to be for her to have love. Not everyone had someone. Even her mother was alone. Kikiyo had died alone. The past always repeated itself. If things had not worked in her past life with Inuyasha then it was not a fated love anyway. It hadn't work last time and it probably wouldn't work this time.

She couldn't deny that they were not even from the same era. Could she even live permanently in the feudal era? It was one thing to visit. It was another to make a life in another era. It would not be easy at all. And what was the point of throwing everything away for someone that didn't love you.

That would just be self-torture.

There was no way that she was going to live in the feudal era unless Inuyasha was her husband. She couldn't live alone like Kaeda. She couldn't just be the village priestess. There was no way. She wanted to be a wife and a mother. If Inuyasha was not interested than it was better to stay home.

Imagine if he found another woman that he wanted to marry. She knew that he couldn't marry Kikiyo, but what if he found someone else. She would devastated if she had to watch him marry someone else after she had given up her life in the future.

She wished that she would have the nerve to give him an ultimatum. But she could never tell him. If he doesn't ask her marry him then one day she will return and never come back.

It would hurt for a long time. Maybe forever. But a girl had to have her dignity. She would never beg him or force him. Love should be freely given. It should never be forced. She was not that kind of person who could manipulate love. She wasn't even sure if she knew how. She barely knew how to wear makeup.

She understood that he had issues. He had a hard life. But why couldn't he just be happy now. How long can you carry the burdens of your past? Was it forever? Would it be impossible to make him happy? Or maybe it was just her. Maybe she wasn't able to? Maybe he would always look at her and see the past. He would never look at her and see the future.

She sighed.

She was tired of a one sided love.

It was so pathetic.

She gasped.

She was Hojo.

Kagome sunk under the water in embarrassment at the thought.


	47. Can't Walk Away

**47\. Can't Walk Away**

* * *

It had been three restful days. Kagome was brushing her hair in the mirror when a servant informed her that Lord Sesshoumaru had requested that she eat breakfast in his study. She was starving, so quickly, got ready to follow the servant.

When she saw the table, she clasped her hands in glee. It was a traditional Japanese breakfast of steamed rice, miso soup, and grilled fish.

"Food." She sighed. "Thank you so much."

"Lord Sesshoumaru will join your shortly." The servant said before exiting.

Sesshoumaru's study looked like an old fancy museum to her. The walls had oil paintings of gardens. The shelves were full of scrolls, folding books, and sewn books. The ceiling was as high as him in his true form. Her knees were tucked under the table. She knew that the food was for her benefit, so she did not bother to wait for Sesshoumaru to eat.

She was hungry. She grabbed the chopsticks and began to eat until she heard a shrilly voice.

"You filthy human! What are you doing in here?" Jaken shrieked.

Kagome frowned, "Oh its only you." Then she took a bit of her food.

"Answer me girl!" Jaken demanded.

"I was invited." Kagome said then reached for more food.

"Who invited you!"

"Sesshoumaru did."

Jaken bristled in shock. "I can't believe what lies are coming from your mouth."

"Fine then wait until he comes back." Kagome really wanted to eat not argue.

Jaken sat down in the corner and stared at her. Now if only Jaken wasn't giving her dirty looks with his big yellow eyes, it almost made her lose her appetite.

Kagome put down her chopsticks onto the low wooden table, "What is it?"

Jaken's beak flapped. "How dare you speak to me that way! Why is a useless human following around the great Lord Sesshomaru?"

Kagome counted to ten in her head. Do not purify Jaken. He needs to survive to the future. Right? He was necessary. She couldn't think of anything important that Jaken had ever done but there must be a reason that Sesshoumaru put up with him. She should ask him to make sure that Jaken was necessary.

"You beady little toad." Kagome growled. "Stop staring at me while I am eat."

"I was not staring at you!" His shrill voice rose higher.

"Yes, you are." Kagome insisted. "Why are you here?"

"You stupid girl!" Jaken shrieked. "I live here. But what are you still doing here! It has been three days that my lord has hosted you. It is time that you leave."

"Go away Jaken." Kagome squinted as she felt a headache coming on.

Sesshomaru waltzed in and Jaken fell to his feet.

"My Lord. It is good to see you."

"Jaken leave us." Sesshomaru stated with his voice leaving no room for argument.

For a moment, Jaken stared at Kagome, "But my lord."

"He said leave." Kagome said smugly.

Jaken sputtered in disbelief but then he walked out in a huff.

Sesshoumaru sat gracefully in front of Kagome. "Miko, we must discuss a matter."

She set down her cup of tea. "What happened?"

"I was informed that Lord Usui has imprisoned Inuyasha, and he tortures him every morning in front of a crowd."

It felt like cold water had been poured on her.

Kagome was horrified. "How could this happen? It can't be true. Inuyasha is strong."

"Calm yourself, Miko."

"I can't believe it. There is no way that anyone could hold Inuyasha." This had to be wrong.

"It is true."

Kagome held her mouth in dismay. "We have to save him." Poor Inuyasha. He was being tortured. Her mind raced with horrific images. How strong was Lord Usui that he could hold Inuyasha? It must be the priests that follow him. Her hands were shaking as she feared for her best friend.

Sesshoumaru glared at her. "You cannot go. You can not interfere in the past anymore. I am taking you home." It was more than time for the priestess to go home before she did anymore damage to the past.

"Home?" Kagome shook her head. "What about Inuyasha?"

Sesshoumaru leaned back with disinterest on his face. "What about you?" Did she have no self- preservation at all? No wonder humans did not live long.

"What about me?" Kagome had no idea what he meant.

Sesshoumaru tried not to lose his patience. "One of the demons that we rescued knows how to get you home. They said that you only have a limited time to reverse the spell. If you continue to waste your time then you may never return home."

Hope filled her heart at the thought of home. If only she could go. She would see Inuyasha again. But- what if she had changed the past and he was caught because of her like Sesshoumaru had been.

"I have to save Inuyasha. I can't leave him."

The demon lord raised his eyebrows. "You will not." It was out of the question.

Kagome stood up and glared at him with fury in her eyes. "I will." She would save Inuyasha no matter what it took. Sesshoumaru had no say in the matter.

Sesshoumaru flared his powers briefly forcing her to flinch. "You will not."

Kagome snapped. "You really are a jerk. How could you leave you brother to be tortured! How can you live with yourself."

"Be careful with your tongue." Sesshoumaru warned.

Kagome crossed her arms. "I can't leave without knowing Inuyasha is safe." There was no way in hell. What if she returned home, and he wasn't there. Had she ruined everything?

"Inuyasha does not need your help."

"How can you say that? He was captured. He is being tortured!"

"Hn-"

Kagome took a deep breath. She knew that she should not yell at him. "Please Sesshoumaru."

He was silent.

Kagome knew that she should not interfere in the past. But she couldn't walk away if Inuyasha needed help either past or present.

She stood up then kneeled in front of Sesshoumaru. "I am begging you. We have to save him. I can't live with myself if something happens to him. I can't walk away from him because I know that he would never walk away from me. I don't know if this will change the past, but I don't care. Please help me Sesshoumaru."

"Go prepare. We will leave soon and free him quickly. But you must learn to hide your scent. He must not know that it is you." Sesshoumaru said.

* * *

**Thank you to everyone for reading.**


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